Rivlin Begins Consultations for Granting Mandate to Form Gov’t

President Reuven Rivlin began consultations Monday with the parties elected to the 24th Knesset to determine which candidate to grant a mandate for forming the next government.

As is customary, the president will meet with representatives of the parties, will hear their recommendations, and at the end of the process will announce an MK who will be entrusted with forming a government.

Once the president has nominated a candidate, that MK will have 28 days to form a new government. If additional time is required, the president is authorized to grant an extension of up to 14 days, according to law.

At the opening of the consultations, the President said, “With the end of the election campaign for the 24th Knesset, we are now beginning the round of consultations ahead of entrusting an MK with the task of forming a government.”

Members of the Likud party, which won 30 Knesset seats in the election, were the first to meet with the president. They recommended Netanyahu for the task.

Next, the president met with representatives of the Yesh Atid party, who recommended their leader Yair Lapid for the job, saying he was the only candidate capable of forming a government.

In their meeting, Rivlin said, “I don’t see a way to establish the government right now. The people of Israel should be very worried that we may be forced to be dragged into a fifth election campaign.”

According to Channel 12, the President plans to ask party chiefs for their second-best pick options and scenarios that they reject, to get a better understanding of the fault lines on the political scene.

On Wednesday, Rivlin is expected to task one of the MKs with forming a government.