By Marney Blom
Today Israeli President Shimon Peres will begin listening to recommendations for the selection of the party leader most likely succeed at building the coalition, necessary to form the next Israeli government. Rumour has it that 80 of the 120 elected representatives favour giving the job to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose party won the largest block of seats in the elections last week. Netanyahu will then have 28 days to cobble together a coalition.
The truth is, the incumbent PM is already well on his way. Centrist Yair Lapid, whose party won the second largest block of voters, has expressed his willingness to join, as has Naftali Bennett of the right-wing Jewish home party. Together the three parties would secure Netanyahu with more than 75 percent of the 80 seats he feels he needs to form a stable government.
If Netanyahu is successful in building a coalition, he will once again become the Prime Minister of Israel. But will the new government adhere to the same policies as the last? Not likely. When Israelis went to the polls last week they cast their ballots decidedly towards a more left-leaning government. It is therefore expected that high on the agenda of the incoming Knesset will be a resurrection of the peace process, with king-maker Yair Lapid pushing hard for a two-state peace accord.
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