Political stalemate could produce second Israel election in 2019

If current opinion polls hold true, then Israelis could be headed for a second election later this year, reported the Jerusalem Post.

According to the paper, polls over the weekend “indicate that an unprecedented political stalemate is looking increasingly likely”, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc lacking the 61 MKs needed to form a government.

After the election, the heads of all the parties who secured enough votes to enter the Knesset will recommend to President Reuven Rivlin who they believe should head a new coalition government.

Although Blue and White is now leading in the polls, only Labor and Meretz have said they will recommend Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to be prime minister.

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Channel 12 “reported on Sunday night that Rivlin has said he would call back the party heads and ask them not who they recommend, but who they do not rule out. Whoever then gets the most recommendations would be given a chance to form the next coalition.”

Channel 13 political analyst Raviv Drucker, meanwhile, reported Sunday that “Rivlin could then compel Netanyahu and Gantz to form a government together, and then let them fight over who would come first in a rotation in the Prime Minister’s Office.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, “a second election in 2019 is looking increasingly possible, if current polls hold true.”

“Both Netanyahu and Gantz would be given a chance – and six weeks – to form a coalition first. If they both fail and no other candidate emerges, Rivlin could initiate another election by the end of July that would be held 90-something days later.”