Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday tasked Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief and the leader of the center-right Yashar party, with forming the country’s next government.
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Herzog → task → government
It’s the first of several steps necessary to determine the next Prime Minister—but a potentially months-long process could leave Benjamin Netanyahu in power for the foreseeable future.
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process → ’ → future
With Herzog’s nod, Eisenkot was given 28 days, through Dec. 6, with a possible 14-day extension, to assemble a government that can win the confidence of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
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that → give → Knesset
Once he notifies the President and the Knesset that he has formed a government, the lawmakers must meet within seven days for a confidence vote.
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lawmakers → notify → vote
The government takes office if it wins that vote.
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it → take → vote
First, Eisenkot would need to bring together rival political parties with disparate policy views and governing priorities in order to form a voting majority.
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Eisenkot → need → majority
By joining his coalition, parties are effectively endorsing Eisenkot as the next Prime Minister.
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parties → join → Minister
But he has several obstacles to overcome before he can get the number of seats that he needs.
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he → have → that
Here’s everything to know about the process Israel will undertake in its efforts to name its next Prime Minister.
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Israel → ’ → Minister
What did Israel’s election results decide?
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results → decide → What
In last month’s election, no party bloc secured the 61 seats needed to form a majority in the 120-seat parliament.
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bloc → secure → parliament
This means that little has been decided about future leadership.
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little → mean → leadership
Knesset elections are scheduled to occur every four years, with the most recent taking place Oct. 27.
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recent → schedule → place
According to The Atlantic, an estimated 67,000 Israeli citizens living outside of the country traveled back this year in order to cast their ballots.
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citizens → accord → ballots
Israeli citizens vote for the political parties that they want to govern—not specific candidates.
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they → vote → that
Based on the percentage of votes cast, each party is then allotted a certain number of representatives in the Knesset.
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party → base → Knesset
Despite Netanyahu's poor approval rating, his Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies, such as Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), secured the most votes and won 53 seats.
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allies → secure → seats
The four Jewish-led parties of the Knesset backing Eisenkot—his Yashar party, in addition to the B'Yachad, the Democrats, and Yisrael Beytenu parties—earned 48.
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parties → lead → 48
Two Arab-led parties hold the remaining 19—a record high.
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parties → lead → 19
“If you just count the number of votes for each party, Netanyahu's party got the most votes, but because it's a parliamentary system, and you need a simple majority to form a government, he was far away from actually establishing a government,” Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, tells TIME.
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Cook → count → TIME
To form a government, the parties must now negotiate an alliance that can secure enough support to win a confidence vote in the Knesset.
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that → form → Knesset
Typically, this requires meeting or exceeding 61 seats, but it can also be fewer if some parties abstain.
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parties → require → seats
Either Netanyahu’s bloc or Eisenkot’s bloc could reach a majority by joining forces with both Arab-led parties, giving them 72 or 67 seats, respectively.
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bloc → reach → seats
Alternatively, the two rival blocs would hold 101 seats if they joined together—but any such agreement would require negotiations over who would serve as Prime Minister.
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who → hold → Minister
Netanyahu would likely press to stay on.
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Netanyahu → press → ?
Rival leaders can also agree to take turns as Prime Minister, as Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir did between 1984 and 1988.
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Peres → agree → 1984
Netanyahu has shown willingness in the past, extending such an offer to Benny Gantz in 2020, though it did not go through.
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it → show → 2020
The decision would need to be reached before a proposition for the new government could be submitted to the Knesset.
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proposition → need → Knesset
Parties within an electoral bloc can also negotiate separately.
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Parties → negotiate → bloc
For example, either Eisenkot or Netanyahu could court one of the Arab-led parties without needing to necessarily sway the other.
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Eisenkot → court → other
However, parties within a bloc tend to share similar outlooks on policy and representation.
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parties → tend → policy
The election results can also shift control of parliament before a new government is formed.
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government → shift → parliament
Shira Efron, a senior fellow at Rand, a global policy think tank, says that voters should take note of Tuesday’s announcement that the opposition bloc agreed to appoint Matan Kahana, who belongs to Eisenkot’s Yashar party, as the next Knesset Speaker and Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu, as Head of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, reflecting a distinct vision for parliament and a willingness to begin the work.
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who → say → work
“They have already been able to enact a few things already, fulfilling promises in terms of taking over the Knesset agenda,” Efron says.
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Efron → enact → agenda
“This is weakening Netanyahu already, before a government is even formed, and while he is still Prime Minister.
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he → weaken → Netanyahu
So this is a positive thing for anyone who wants to see a change in government.”
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who → want → government
Why was Eisenkot chosen to form Israel’s next government?
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Eisenkot → choose → government
While the presidency is largely ceremonial in Israel, their power is particularly pronounced in the aftermath of an Israeli election.
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power → pronounce → election
They consult with the leaders of each political party and pick the person who they believe is most likely to successfully bring together disparate parties to form a governing coalition.
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they → consult → coalition
“More often than not, it's been the leader of the party with the most votes,” says Cook.
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Cook → say → votes
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
