Israeli president to begin coalition talks in hopes of finding path to government

Coalition talks are negotiations among elected parties to assemble enough Knesset support for a government. They matter because Israel’s election left both major blocs short of the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority. Without an agreement, no side can govern alone.

President Isaac Herzog will consult parties elected to the Knesset and choose the candidate he believes has the best chance of securing that majority. This does not automatically mean selecting the leader of the largest party. Likud won 27 seats, but its wider bloc still lacks enough support.

The chosen candidate receives 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension. If talks succeed, the parties supporting the agreement can create the next government. Herzog has said he wants to avoid another election, so the consultations are an important first step.

A majority in Israel’s Knesset means controlling more than half of its 120 seats. That requires at least 61 lawmakers. A government normally needs this level of parliamentary backing to be formed and sustained, making the number the central target after an election.

The election produced no automatic winner. Likud was the strongest party with 27 seats, while Yashar won 21, but neither political bloc reached 61. Parties must therefore combine their seats through coalition talks. The final governing group may include several parties with different priorities.

The 61-seat threshold determines whether a candidate’s coalition plan can work. If one candidate cannot secure it, the mandate can pass to another lawmaker. If every route fails to produce a majority coalition, parliament dissolves and elections follow within 90 days.

In Israel’s system, the president traditionally selects the lawmaker judged most likely to build a parliamentary majority. The largest party’s leader may be the obvious contender, but winning the most seats alone does not prove that a governing coalition can be assembled.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud emerged as the strongest party, with 27 of 120 seats. Yet neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition reached the 61 seats required for a majority. Another candidate could therefore have stronger relationships or more acceptable positions for potential coalition partners.

Herzog’s consultations are designed to test that possibility. He can nominate the person with the best path to coalition support, whether or not that person leads the largest party. The decision matters because the nominee gets the first 28-day attempt to form a government.

The Arab parties’ combined 19 seats could substantially change the coalition arithmetic. Because neither main bloc has 61 seats, support from a large group outside those blocs might provide the votes needed to form a government. Their participation could therefore determine which candidate succeeds.

The Joint List alliance and conservative Islamic Raam party together won 19 seats, nearly twice their 2022 result. Around 2,000 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv for Arab-party participation in the next government. Their seats are not automatically committed to either side, however.

Gadi Eisenkot has tied possible government participation to four conditions. These include recognizing Israel as a Jewish, democratic and liberal state with equal legal status, and classifying Hamas as a terrorist organisation while seeking to dismantle its military structures and exclude it from political power. It remains uncertain whether the Arab parties will accept all demands.

The coalition process has several stages, so failure by the first nominee does not immediately trigger an election. The initial candidate receives 28 days to form a government, and the president may grant an additional 14 days. This creates time for difficult negotiations among parties.

If the candidate still cannot build a majority, Herzog transfers the mandate to another member of parliament for 28 days. That second nominee then has a fresh opportunity to gather enough support. The aim is to find a coalition that can command at least 61 Knesset seats.

The process can continue beyond those two attempts. If the second effort also fails, at least 61 lawmakers can propose a candidate within 21 days. That candidate receives 14 days to form a government. Only after all three stages fail does parliament dissolve automatically.

Parliament dissolves when every constitutional route to a majority coalition has failed. The purpose is to reset the political process rather than install a government that lacks enough Knesset support. A government needs a workable parliamentary majority, so an unresolved deadlock cannot continue indefinitely.

The article describes three attempts. The first nominee gets 28 days, plus a possible 14-day extension. If that fails, another member of parliament gets 28 days. If the second attempt fails, at least 61 lawmakers can propose a candidate within 21 days, and that person gets 14 days.

If none of these stages produces a majority coalition, parliament dissolves automatically. New elections must then follow within 90 days. Herzog has said he wants to avoid that outcome, but the deadlocked result leaves it possible.

Coalition governments are common in Israel because its parliamentary elections distribute seats among parties, and a single party may not win the 61 seats needed for control. Parties must therefore negotiate shared support, policy commitments and participation in a governing team. This explanation uses established knowledge about parliamentary coalition systems; the article focuses on the current deadlock.

Here, Likud won 27 seats and Yashar won 21, while neither broader bloc reached a majority. Smaller parties, including the Joint List and Raam, can become important because their seats may help a candidate cross the 61-seat threshold. Their support is politically conditional.

Herzog turns the election result into a governing process by consulting elected parties and selecting the candidate most likely to build that majority. The nominee then negotiates for support. If every attempt fails, parliament dissolves and new elections are held within 90 days.