Netanyahu, Gantz trade blame for breakdown in Israel govt talks

JERUSALEM : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz traded blame on Sunday over the failure so far of efforts to reach a unity government deal following deadlocked elections.

A new round of negotiations between Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud and Gantz’s centrist Blue and White broke down on Sunday and the two sides appeared far from reaching a compromise. Likud said Netanyahu would make a “last effort” to reach a deal before informing President Reuven Rivlin he is unable to form a government.

That would leave Rivlin to decide whether to ask Gantz to try to do so or call on parliament to agree on a candidate for prime minister by a vote of at least 61 out of 120 members.

Netanyahu “will make a last effort to realise the possibility of forming a government at this stage, before returning the mandate to the president”, Likud said in a statement. Compared with the 2017 ballot, Kurz’s conservative group (OEVP) widened its lead over political rivals

The Social Democrats

(SPOE) got their worst result in a national election since 1945

The far-right Freedom Party (FPOE) suffered the sharpest losses from 2017’s 26% as a result of the ‘Ibiza affair’ - an undercover video that showed party officials currying favour with a fake Russian oligarch’s niece on the Spanish island

People’s Party Social Democrats

Coalition talks could take months. So until the new government is sworn in, caretaker Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein will remain in office Projections are based on actual results of rural polling stations that already closed and were counted early. The interior minister is expected to announce a final result between 8pm and 9pm local time on Sunday

Mail-in votes will start to be counted on Monday

Freedom Greens Party Party Others