Netanyahu Gives Up Effort To Form Government, Returns Mandate

Netanyahu gives up effort to form government, returns mandate

BY GIL HOFFMAN

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned the mandate to form a government to President Reuven Rivlin minutes after the end of the Simhat Torah holiday on Monday night, and two nights before the deadline for him to build a coalition.

Rivlin, who has received the message from Netanyahu , will hold consultations with faction representatives who request to meet with him. By law, the president has three days to give the mandate to Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.

Netanyahu released a video complaining that Gantz refused to negotiate with him. In the video, Netanyahu revealed that in addition to what is known to the public, he had initiated secret steps to build a unity government with Gantz.

The prime minister warned in the video that Gantz could form a minority government backed by the Joint List in a parliamentary safety net. Netanyahu said that if Gantz built such a coalition, he would serve as head of the opposition.

“A minority government will be formed with the support of Joint List MKs who encourage terror and oppose Israel’s existence,” Netanyahu warned. “How can a minority government led by Gantz and supported by these MKs fight terror?”

But Netanyahu said a unity government could still be formed. By law, if Gantz fails to build a coalition during the 28-day mandate he will receive from Rivlin, there will be 21 days in which any MK can obtain the support of 61 MKs to form a government. If no one succeeds, an election will be initiated automatically.

הודעה חשובה ממני אליכם pic.twitter.com/cZ7Riua3La

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) October 21, 2019

 

“The time for political spin is over, and now is the time for action,” Blue and White said in response. “Blue and White is determined to create the liberal unity government led by Gantz that the people elected a month ago.”

When Gantz receives the mandate, he will invite Netanyahu to negotiate the formation of a unity government in which Gantz will precede Netanyahu as prime minister in a rotation.

When Rivlin gives the mandate to Gantz, he will be the first candidate other than Netanyahu to try and form a government since 2008, when Tzipi Livni failed to build a coalition.