Israel’s main parties begin talks on coalition government

JERUSALEM: Israel’s two largest political parties are meeting to discuss the possibility of forming a unity government between them, after last week’s deadlocked national elections.
Tuesday’s meeting between party representatives comes a day after Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the rival Likud party held their first meeting since the polling. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin brought them together in hopes of breaking a political impasse that could send the nation into months of limbo and potentially force a third election in less than a year.
Israel’s president is responsible for choosing a candidate for prime minister after national elections. That task is usually a formality, but far more complicated this time since neither of the candidates can build a stable parliamentary majority on his own.