JERUSALEM – Israel’s veteran ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu secured a mandate Sunday to form a new government, paving the way for his comeback at the helm of what is expected to be the most right-wing administration in the country’s history.
After a period of unprecedented political gridlock tested the electorate with five votes in less than four years, November 1 polls gave Netanyahu and his far-right allies a clear majority in the 120-seat parliament.
“I have decided to assign to you, Benjamin Netanyahu, the task of forming a government,” President Isaac Herzog told him at a ceremony in Jerusalem.
Accepting the mandate, the 73-year-old right-wing politician widely known as “Bibi” vowed to serve all Israelis, “those who voted for us and those who did not — it is my responsibility”.
Netanyahu, who is fighting corruption allegations in court, will have at least 28 days to build a coalition with his allies — two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and a rising extreme-right alliance called Religious Zionism.
Herzog noted Netanyahu’s ongoing trial: “I am not oblivious, of course, to the fact that there are ongoing legal proceedings against Mr Netanyahu at the Jerusalem District Court, and I do not trivialize this at all”.
But he said that recent precedent made clear Netanyahu could serve as prime minister while contesting the allegations.
Netanyahu can seek a two-week extension to his initial mandate but is expected to announce a coalition deal reasonably quickly, given broad ideological unity within the incoming government.
‘Prophetize catastrophe’-
Netanyahu’s next moves will be closely scrutinized as unease mounts in some quarters over his policy plans and the goals of his controversial governing partners.
Netanyahu, however, insisted that those seeking to “prophetize catastrophe and scare the public” are misguided.
“It’s not the first time we have heard this kind of talk,” he said, making unspecific references to his own previous governments. “It was wrong then and it is still wrong today.”
The new government is however widely expected to pass sweeping judicial reforms, a long-held priority of Israel’s right. That could include a so-called “override clause” giving parliament the right to overrule the supreme court any time it declares legislation to be illegal.
Netanyahu’s government may also take full control over appointing supreme court judges, a task currently performed by a panel of lawmakers, sitting judges and lawyers.
The centrist Yesh Atid party of outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday condemned a “dark day for Israel’s democracy,” in an apparent reference to the judicial reform package.