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Knesset’s 21-day grace period: Opportunity for change

Instead of heading for a third election in less than a year, Knesset members could support a noncontroversial member among themselves for the position of prime minister.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin addresses the opening session of the 22nd Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1A6B80C700
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Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz failed to muster a new government. Following this double failure, the mandate for composing a new government passed Nov. 21 to the Knesset for a period of three weeks. If no Knesset member succeeds in assembling a majority, Israel will head to new elections.

This has never happened in Israel’s history. While the clause in the Basic Law that enables Kennet members to crown a prime minister with the support of a majority of 61 has never been applied, there is a municipal precedent of sorts from 1965 in Nazareth, when the mayor was not elected directly by city residents but by the city council. Thus the winning candidate had to form a coalition to be selected. In Nazareth that year, the election results were as follows: seven representatives for Mapai (Workers Party of the Land of Israel, which later merged into Labor), seven representatives for the Communist Party and one representative for Mapam (the United Workers Party, which was a leftist Zionist party). All of the representatives were Arab citizens of Israel. The Communists made an effort to win over the Mapam representative in order to gain a majority, and offered him important roles in city management. Mapai did so as well, to no effect; the Mapam representative refused all of the offers. In the end, after everyone had given up, and talked of a repeat election, a solution was found: The single elected representative from Mapam on the council was chosen as mayor.

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