Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin will ask opposition leader Benny Gantz to form a new government coalition. Gantz is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s major rival, making the appointment a blow to current Israeli Prime Minister. Gantz will receive the official request from the President on Monday.
Rivlin had talks with all parties in the 120-member parliament on Sunday. This shows that the former army general Gantz is supported by a narrow majority. 61 members of the Knesset expressed sympathy for Gantz, 58 MPs supported Netanyahu. One Member of Parliament expressed no preference.
According to the president, Gantz now has the greatest chance of success forming a coalition, since the country had elections for the third time in a year on March 2. In that year Netanyahu always failed to form a new government. In the March elections, Netanyahu won with his Likud party and like-minded parties.
With the appointment, there is a good chance that Gantz will succeed seventy-year-old Netanyahu as the new prime minister. Right-wing nationalist Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in the country, holding office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009.
In connection with the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, Netanyahu proposed an emergency government under his leadership, but this has not been acted upon.
Netanyahu is on trial for corruption
The prime minister’s popularity took a hit when he was charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust last year. Netanyahu is said to have granted hundreds of millions of euros in state favors to owners of Israeli media in exchange for gifts and positive reporting.
Netanyahu denies all charges. The trial against him would start on March 17, but has been postponed due to the corona virus.
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