Benjamin Netanyahu fails to form a government: Everything is the same in Israel

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Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government

Photo: Maya Alleruzzo / dpa

Israel’s right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed again to form a government within two years of the fourth parliamentary election.

A corresponding deadline expired at midnight local time, i.e. at 11 p.m. German time.

President Reuven Rivlin could appoint opposition leader Jair Lapid to form a government on Wednesday.

His future party belongs to the political center, but forming a coalition should not be easy for him either.

For the time being, Netanyahu will remain at the head of a transitional government, and a fifth new election cannot be ruled out.

Netanyahu has been the country's prime minister for twelve years; no one before him has held this position for longer.

However, Netanyahu seems to see serious danger in the Future Party.

On Monday, the 71-year-old offered the head of the religious-nationalist Jamina party, Naftali Bennett, the office of head of government in an alternate model to prevent a "left government".

"Emergency government" only lasted a few months

Netanyahu had previously run a similar model with the center alliance Blau-Weiß around Benny Gantz, after initially no government was formed again.

In view of the corona crisis, both had agreed in April 2020 on a "national emergency government" in which Netanyahu was initially the head of government, but was to be handed over to Gantz after a year and a half.

But the coalition failed as early as December.

Netanyahu has earned a reputation as a political survivor in recent years, and even a corruption lawsuit could not stop him.

Netanyahu denies the allegations and was tasked with forming a government again after the March 23 election.

His Likud party had become the strongest force with 30 seats out of 120 in parliament.

hba / dpa / AFP