Israeli President Isaac Herzog's decision to nominate Gadi Eisenkot to form a new government came at the end of Shabbat. According to Israeli law, the candidate has 28 days to form a coalition and present it to the Knesset. If necessary, you can request a two-week extension. And if it fails, what happens? Here are the scenarios.
During the two days of consultations, the political forces representing a total of 67 members of the Knesset recommended the name of Eisenkot, from the Change Bloc. The coalition of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu obtained 46 indications from those elected to Parliament. While the United Judaism party (alliance between two Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox parties) has decided not to nominate any candidate. Herzog's spokesperson reported in the official note that the president has had in-depth talks in recent days with various personalities of the political system, including meetings with Netanyahu and Eisenkot, to whom - in fact - he communicated his intention.
Just before the presidential announcement, Netanyahu had released a video statement: "I call for the formation of a government of national unity that includes all parties of the national camp and all Zionist parties. An executive that depends on Hamas supporters will not fight Hamas, a government that depends on those who hate Judaism will not preserve Israel as a Jewish state. A government that depends on Islamists will dismantle the State of Israel from within, as is happening in European countries," said the now former prime minister.
Eisenkot responded to Netanyahu's call by clarifying that "if the Likud and its members are suddenly interested in unity and a coalition government, they are more than welcome to publicly announce the dissolution of their alliance with the extremists (Ben Gvir and Smotriche, ed.), to accept Gadi Eisenkot's principles and to express their willingness to join a government led by him as prime minister. Until then, this is nothing more than pathetic propaganda." He added: "He who has divided, torn and caused strife in Israeli society suddenly uses the word 'unity' only when he realizes that his days in power are numbered."
The game is now in the hands of the Change Bloc. With Eisenkot maintaining the points of his electoral program of a Zionist government, which wants the draft for all citizens and asks the Arab parties to condemn Hamas, aiming for a minority government with the external support of the Arabs. In the meantime, however, the leader of Ysrael Beitenu, Avigdor Liberman (who is part of the Alliance of Change) has made a sensational backtrack on one of the crucial points of his campaigns, opening up the discussion on the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox young people (and therefore religious parties) and blocking the way to a minority government with the Arab factions.
Eisenkot has 28 days to form a governing coalition, with the possibility of a 14-day extension. The coalition must then be approved by the majority of Knesset members present at the vote. During these 28 days and beyond, the candidate for prime minister tries to convince parties to join his coalition, often by promising ministerial positions. This is a delicate balance because some parties refuse to sit at the table with others or exclude being part of a coalition that promotes certain programmatic points.
If the first candidate for prime minister fails to form a coalition, the president has three days to choose another. The only requirement is that the candidate be a member of the Knesset. The same deadline of 28 days applies, but without the possibility of extension. Herzog could also decide not to nominate anyone and inform the Knesset that no candidate is capable of forming a government, a position he is bound to take if the second candidate for prime minister also fails to form a government.
There is a 21-day period during which 61 deputies can petition the president to grant a candidate, who must be a member of the Knesset, the power to form a government. The president has two days to grant the request and give the candidate 14 days to form a government. This government will then have to obtain the approval of the Knesset. If no petitions arrive or the nominated candidate fails to form a government, the Knesset dissolves and a new 90-day election cycle begins.
