Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Granted Authority to Form Next Government... "Coalition Likely to Be Difficult"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel, has been nominated as the prime minister candidate to form the next government, according to BBC and other media on the 6th (local time). Although Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in history, considering the current party composition, it seems unlikely that forming a coalition government will be easy.

According to reports, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin announced on the day that he would nominate Netanyahu, who leads the right-wing Likud party, as the prime minister candidate to form the next government. President Rivlin held meetings with the leaders of parties represented in the Knesset the day before to hear their opinions on forming the next government, and among the total 120 Knesset members, 52 recommended Netanyahu as the prime minister candidate during the meetings.

President Rivlin said, "I made the decision based on the number of member recommendations. Netanyahu has a slightly higher possibility of forming the government," but added, "However, (based on the party meetings) there is no candidate with a realistic chance of forming a government." Accordingly, Netanyahu has 28 days to attempt to form a coalition, and if he fails, he can request an additional 14-day extension from President Rivlin.

During the meetings between President Rivlin and the leaders of parties represented in the Knesset, the ruling Likud party (30 seats) and Netanyahu’s known allied factions?the ultra-Orthodox Shas party (9 seats), the Torah Judaism Party (UTJ, 7 seats), and the 'Religious Zionist Party' (6 seats)?all expressed support for him. To secure governance, Netanyahu must gain at least 9 more supportive seats from these 'third bloc' forces or the 'anti-Netanyahu bloc.'

However, forming a coalition government for Netanyahu is expected to be difficult. Israel has experienced severe political division and held four elections in the past two years. If coalition formation fails again this time, a fifth election will be necessary. Amid this situation, daily revelations from witnesses continue in the trial concerning Netanyahu’s charges of bribery, breach of trust, and fraud.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.