Representatives of Israel’s two largest parties met on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of forming a unity government after last week’s deadlock elections, Israeli media reported.
This comes one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and his rival Benny Gantz of the Blue and White party held their first talks after the September 17 polls.
It was reported that Gantz had been reluctant to initiate talks with Netanyahu, but Israeli President Reuven Rivlin intervened on Monday and called the two politicians to his official residence. Rivlin expects the two parties to break the political impasse, otherwise the country could be forced to hold a third election in less than a year.
The president is constitutionally responsible for nominating a prime minister after national elections, AFP reported. But neither Likud nor the centrist Blue and White party secured enough seats with their allies to form a majority.
Last week’s elections marked the first time Israel has held two votes in one year. The ballot was called after Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party failed to win enough seats to form a coalition following elections in April.
