Israeli President Herzog asks Gadi Eisenkot to form government, a setback for Netanyahu

Israeli politics has heated up after President Isaac Herzog formally invited Gadi Eisenkot, president of the opposition Yashar party and former chief of the army (IDF), to form a new government. The mandate was handed to him at a special ceremony at the President's residence. The decision is a major blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hopes of returning to the prime minister's chair.

Israeli politics has been in turmoil and tension since the recent general election, in which no single clear alliance or party won a majority. This left it unclear who would form the next government.

To stay in power, Netanyahu spoke to several national parties and repeatedly appealed for a "National Unity Government". He had also warned the opposition camp, giving clear signals that he would not ally with Arab parties. But after in-depth consultations with all political parties and leaders, President Herzog placed his trust in Eisenkot and decided to invite him first.

Eisenkot is a former chief of the Israeli army and is regarded in the country as a respected and strong leader. Leading the Yashar party, he had directly challenged Netanyahu. Now that he has been given the chance to form a government, he faces the difficult task of mustering the support of more than 60 members of parliament to prove a majority.

Eisenkot has already made clear that he wants to take Israel on a liberal, democratic and inclusive path. To that end, he is preparing to reverse Netanyahu's earlier policies and bring in new administrative reforms. However, given the political arithmetic in parliament, he will have to work hard to bring together smaller and larger parties and potential partners.

Under the rules, after receiving the mandate Eisenkot has been given 28 days to build a coalition and show a majority. If he has difficulty gathering a majority in this period, the President can use his authority to grant him a further 14 days.

The most important aspect of the process is that if Eisenkot fails to gather the required majority of seats in the time given, the President can hand the mandate to Netanyahu again. For this reason, Netanyahu and his supporters are for now in a "wait and watch" mode.