Herzog to Pick Israel’s Next PM Sunday; Eisenkot Leads 67-46World

The consultations produced a clear lead for Gadi Eisenkot, the chairman of the Yashar! party and a former chief of the Israeli General Staff. Factions representing 67 of the Knesset’s 120 members recommended Eisenkot to form the next government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the chairman of Likud, received recommendations from factions representing 46 members. The seven members of United Torah Judaism, a longstanding Netanyahu ally, declined to recommend either candidate, breaking with their usual practice of backing the Likud leader.

Eisenkot’s tally includes 19 recommendations from two Arab-led parties, the Joint List with 11 seats and Ra’am with eight. His four Jewish-led supporting parties hold 48 seats between them. A candidate needs the support of 61 members of the 120-seat Knesset to command a majority.

Despite the numbers, Herzog was careful to say that the outcome is not settled. He told reporters that the results of the consultations may appear clear, but his task under the law is to determine who has the ability to form a government, and that is not entirely clear given the mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves.

Eisenkot, 66, has so far ruled out forming a government with either of the two Arab-led parties, even though both recommended him. That leaves him needing to find a path to 61 seats from parties that have so far refused to sit together, a problem Netanyahu also faces from the other side.

Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats in the 27 October election, well short of a majority, and the loss of United Torah Judaism’s seven recommendations has left the prime minister trailing in the presidential consultations. He remains prime minister in a caretaker government until a new coalition is formed.

Whoever receives the mandate on Sunday will have 28 days to try to put together a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension. If no candidate succeeds, Israel could be headed for another election.

The hardest part of the process is still ahead. Even if Herzog hands the mandate to Eisenkot, the former military chief will have to bridge deep divisions between his backers, including parties that have publicly ruled out governing with one another, to secure a vote of confidence from the Knesset.

Herzog called on party leaders to move quickly and to bring the interim government to an end. He said a government can be formed and urged the parties to act swiftly, as the country has been without a settled government since the election nearly two weeks ago.

Attention now turns to the weekend talks at the President’s Residence. Herzog’s choice on Sunday will set the direction of the coalition negotiations, but the recommendations alone do not guarantee that the chosen candidate can assemble the 61 votes needed to govern.