Rivlin announced his decision live on television. He consulted all parties in the Israeli parliament throughout the day and said in the afternoon that he thought Lapid had the best chance of forming a coalition.
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Lapid now has four weeks to reach an agreement with potential partners.
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However, political observers admit that he, too, may fail to form a ruling coalition and will have to hold extraordinary parliamentary elections again.
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The Likud’s right-wing party, Likud, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, won 30 of the 120 Knesset seats in the March election and thus has the most seats in parliament. Rivlin instructed Netanyahu to form a government, but within 28 days, the prime minister failed to form a ruling coalition.
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The early parliamentary elections on March 23 were the fourth in two years, but none of the camps again succeeded in gaining an overwhelming majority. As before, the balance of power between Netanyahu’s supporters and opponents is virtually the same.
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Meanwhile, a lawsuit against Netanyahu, accused of corruption, is continuing in the Jerusalem court. This is the first time in Israel’s history that an incumbent Prime Minister has appeared before a court.
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Netanyahu, 71, has been prime minister since 2009. He was also the head of government from 1996 to 1999.
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