Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Failed To Form A Coalition

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Failed To form a coalition. Israeli PM Netanyahu failed to form a coalition, sitting in opposition.

The deadline for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a coalition government came to an end on Tuesday midnight.

But he has not been able to do anything in this direction till now. His Likud party may have to sit in the opposition for the first time in 12 years in the absence of doing so.

For the last two years, there has been a deadlock in forming a government even after four elections. And since last March 23, Netanyahu has been struggling to get a majority in Parliament.

Despite repeated meetings with several of his opponents, Netanyahu has not reached an agreement to form the government even in four weeks in the reconciliation efforts with the leader of the Islamist Arab Party.

With the end of the four-week deferment to midnight Tuesday, the matter will now go back to President Ruven Rivlin if no agreement is reached.

However, no agreement with other parties to form a coalition government does not mean that Prime Minister Netanyahu will have to leave his post immediately.

President Reuven Rivlin may grant him another two weeks’ time to form a coalition. He can also give any opponent of Netanyahu a chance to form the government.

Apart from this, he can also refer the matter back to Parliament. This may give MPs the opportunity to elect a Prime Minister from among themselves.

If all these options fail, Israel may face another election this year. This will cause political instability in the country for months.

Netanyahu’s Likud party emerged as the single largest party in the country in the election held on 23 March. It had won thirty seats in the 120-member Parliament.

But he needed a majority of 61 seats to form a government. With the support of his ideological nationalist parties, he could form a government.

But the New Hope Party and Religious Zionism Party refused to support him. All these parties objected to the Arab partners involved in the alliance.