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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been nominated to try to form Israel’s next government, the Israeli president’s office announced yesterday, offering the longtime leader a political lifeline even as he faces a looming indictment for corruption.
According to New York Times, President Reuven Rivlin chose Netanyahu of the conservative Likud party over his chief opponent, Benny Gantz, a former military chief and the leader of the centrist Blue and White party. The Sept. 17 election left the sides essentially tied.
Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge: He has 28 days to assemble a majority of at least 61 seats in Parliament and has no clear path to that number. The parties that have endorsed his bid for another term won 55 seats. He also faces possible indictments in three corruption cases, and a special hearing with the attorney general has been scheduled for next Wednesday.
It was the second time Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has been given the chance to form a government in five months. He won a plurality in the previous election in April but failed to assemble a majority coalition in its aftermath, leading to a repeat election this month.
