The Israeli PM will need to reach the magic number of 61 to remain in his seat. But as he struggles to find allies, this prospect seems to be far-fetched and that means…
After a long day of consultations with 13 parties’ chiefs, Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has finally ruled on Tuesday that it will be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who will be entrusted to form a government. Netanyahu, whose Likud party received 30 out of 120 seats in the Israeli parliament, will now have 28 days to build a coalition unless the president extends it by two more weeks. However, forming a government might soon prove to be a mission impossible for the longest-serving Israeli PM. Together with his natural allies, a bloc of three religious parties, Netanyahu currently has 52 seats in the chamber and that means he is 9 signatures away from remaining in his seat as prime minister. To obtain that number, he will need to get the support of his former defence minister Naftali Bennett, who garnished 7 seats in the parliament. But the catch is that the latter dreams to replace Netanyahu at his post and might not want to settle for anything less than a premiership role. Yet, Netanyahu does not lose hope. According to reports, the plan is that members of the religious bloc will convince Bennett to throw his support behind the premier for which he can obtain any ministerial position he would like.
