Why recommending Israel’s next prime minister is not agreeing to a government

A party can help a politician get the first chance to form Israel’s government and still stay out of the government that follows. For readers trying to understand who will govern—and which parties will shape its programme—a tally of recommendations is only the beginning.

The distinction is between choosing someone to try and agreeing to what that person assembles. In their November 3, 2026 explainer, Israel Democracy Institute researchers Ofer Kenig and Dana Blander explain how recommendations inform the president’s choice, while parliamentary confidence determines whether the proposed government can take office.

Their account helps separate three decisions that political announcements can blur:

These commitments can overlap, but none should be silently substituted for another. A recommendation alone does not establish agreement on the government’s membership or programme. Equally, a party offering parliamentary support from outside the coalition should not be counted as having joined it.

How fewer than 61 coalition seats can be enough

According to Kenig and Blander, the initial confidence vote requires a simple majority, rather than necessarily 61 affirmative votes. A government whose coalition holds fewer than 61 seats can win initial parliamentary approval if affirmative votes exceed opposing votes, excluding abstentions. A tie fails; merely avoiding 61 opposing votes is insufficient.

Outside parties can therefore help in two different ways: by voting in favour or by abstaining, reducing the number of opposing votes the government must overcome. Abstention is not an affirmative vote, and it helps secure approval only if the final count leaves more votes in favour than against.

For a hypothetical illustration, 58 votes in favour, 57 against and five abstentions would approve a government. Change that to 58 in favour, 58 against and four abstentions, and approval fails. Counting coalition seats alone cannot settle the outcome.

What the president decides

The president’s role is also more than reading out the largest recommendation tally. The president must consult parliamentary factions before the initial assignment, but the researchers explain that the law does not require selecting the candidate with the most recommendations. The central consideration is the candidate’s prospect of forming a government that can secure the confidence of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Nor must the opportunity go to the largest party. The institute gives an example from 2009: Tzipi Livni’s Kadima won 28 seats and Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud won 27. President Shimon Peres nevertheless assigned the task to Netanyahu, assessing his prospects as stronger. Netanyahu subsequently formed a government that won parliamentary confidence.

The assignment starts a clock

Receiving the assignment opens a negotiating period. Under the procedure described by Kenig and Blander, the chosen member of parliament must consent to undertaking the task and initially has 28 days. The president may grant extensions totalling up to 14 additional days. Extra time is discretionary; the assignment does not automatically confer six weeks.

Failure at that first attempt does not automatically mean an immediate election. The institute describes further opportunities, including an assignment to another candidate and a later stage at which at least 61 members can request a particular consenting candidate. If the required request is made at that stage, the president must accept it. Failure of the remaining procedures can lead to elections.

That later 61-member threshold concerns the request to assign a candidate. It is a different decision from the initial vote approving a government, where affirmative votes must outnumber opposing votes.

Source

• Ofer Kenig and Dana Blander, “Presidential discretion in assigning government formation,” Israel Democracy Institute, November 3, 2026 (Hebrew).