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Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu got a new lease on his political life on Tuesday, receiving a mandate from Israel’s president to form a new government after an inconclusive election.
Israel’s longest-serving leader, in power consecutively since 2009, now faces the tough task of breaking an unprecedented political stalemate and enlisting enough allies for a governing coalition.
Under law, Mr Netanyahu will have 28 days to do so, with the possibility of a two-week extension before president Reuven Rivlin picks another candidate or asks parliament to choose one.
Israel’s election on March 23rd, its fourth in two years, ended with neither a Netanyahu-led right-wing and religious bloc nor a prospective alliance of his opponents winning a parliamentary majority.
But in consultations Mr Rivlin held with political parties on Monday on granting the coalition-building mandate, Mr Netanyahu received more endorsements than his challengers, leading to the president’s televised announcement giving him the nod.
Corruption trial
The announcement in Jerusalem on Tuesday nudged forward the twin dramas over the country’s future and Mr Netanyahu’s fate as his corruption trial resumed across town.
The charges facing Mr Netanyahu posed an extraordinary choice for the country’s president over whether “morality” should be a factor in who should lead the government.
The election in March had revolved around whether Mr Netanyahu is fit to continue serving. His Likud party won the most seats, but no party won a governing majority of 61 seats in the Knesset, handing Mr Rivlin the task of deciding who has the best chance of cobbling together a coalition.
Mr Netanyahu denies all charges, including fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes, and says prosecutors are trying to undermine the voters intent and oust him from office. – Reuters, Associated Press