Rivlin gives Knesset 21 days to agree on the PM it wants, or go to new election
President Reuven Rivlin informed Knesset Speaker Benny Gantz on Thursday morning that his mandate to form a government had ended, after the Blue and White party leader failed to present a government to the parliament by Wednesday night’s midnight deadline.
Rivlin announced earlier this week he would not hand the mandate to Gantz’s rival, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but would trigger the start of the 21-day period during which the entire Knesset as a whole may select a candidate to form a government.
Passing the mandate to the Knesset gives Netanyahu and Gantz three more weeks to seal a deal, or theoretically opens the door to other coalition possibilities.
