JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli President on Tuesday handed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the difficult task of trying to form a government in the country’s divided parliament, giving the attacked leader a chance to extend his long term during the corruption trial. .
In his announcement, President Reuven Rivlin acknowledged that no party leader had the support to form a 120-seat majority Knesset coalition. He also mentioned that many believe that Netanyahu is not fit to serve in light of his legal problems.
However, Rivlin said there was nothing in the law to prevent Netanyahu from serving as prime minister. After consulting with the 13 parties in the newly elected parliament, Rivlin said Netanyahu has the best chance of any candidate forming a new government.
“No candidate has a realistic chance of forming a government that will trust the Knesset,” Rivlin said. But, he added, Netanyahu has “slightly better chances” of being able to.
“I decided to entrust him with the task,” Rivlin of Jerusalem said. Netanyahu now has up to six weeks to try to form a coalition during his trial.
The decision boosted the twin dramas over the country’s future and Netanyahu’s fate, giving Israel’s longest-serving prime minister a new chance to try to save his career.
A court decision could be a few months or even years away. The proceedings are expected to take place up to three days a week, an embarrassing and time-consuming distraction that will hide Netanyahu’s appeals to his rivals.
Netanyahu has the largest support – 52 seats – in the Israel Knesset. But this is still short of a 61-seat majority. He is likely to use his persuasive powers to try to lure a number of opponents, including a number of former close aides who have vowed never to serve him again, with generous offers from powerful government ministries or legislative commissions.
The 45-member parties backed Yair Lapid, while seven-seat Yamina nominated its own leader, Naftali Bennett. Three parties with a total of 16 seats did not make any recommendations.
Rivlin’s decision combines questions about Netanyahu’s legal and political future with what is probably the strongest political challenge in his career.
In court, he faces fraud, breaches of trust and allegations of bribery in three separate cases. The trials resumed on Tuesday, although the prime minister was not expected to appear in court.
A key witness dismissed Netanyahu on Monday as an image-obsessed leader who forced a prominent news site to help his family and crush his opponents.
Netanyahu denies all charges and, in a nationally televised address, accused prosecutors of persecuting him in an effort to remove him from office.
“That’s what a coup attempt looks like,” he said.
Monday’s court session focused on the worst case against Netanyahu – in which he is accused of promoting regulations that delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to telecommunications company Bezeq in exchange for positive coverage on the company’s popular news site, Walla .
Ilan Yeshua, Walla’s former editor-in-chief, described a system in which Bezeq’s owners, Shaul and Iris Elovitch, repeatedly pressured him to publish favorable things about Netanyahu and shatter the prime minister’s rivals.
The explanation the couple gave him? “That’s what the prime minister wanted,” he said.
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Kellman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.
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