After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to successfully form a coalition government, Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has turned the opportunity to create a ruling administration from the various political parties in the country, signalling a possible end to Netanyahu’s 12-year reign, the Associated Press reports.
In a televised address, Rivlin said that Netanyahu failed to create a viable coalition by the midnight deadline, so he was handing the task to Yair Lapid, the leader of the Yesh Atid, a center/moderate party Lapid formed in 2012.
Rivlin said he consulted with the various parties in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and determined that Lapid had the best chance of forming a governing coalition. “[I]t is clear that Knesset member Yair Lapid has a chance to form a government that will earn the confidence of the Knesset, even if the difficulties are many,” Rivlin commented.