Israel's president openly reluctant on Netanyahu forming government
President Reuven Rivlin made sure everyone knew he would have preferred to task someone other than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with forming Israel’s next government.
The April 6 swearing-in ceremony for Israel’s 24th Knesset will be remembered for President Reuven Rivlin's antipathy toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Rivlin would have preferred to task someone else with forming Israel’s next government, and he made sure everyone knew it. Because Netanyahu had more Knesset endorsements than the other candidates, he had no choice.
Rivlin gave Netanyahu the complex task under duress, making it clear that he was doing so with a heavy heart.
Political sources told Al-Monitor that Rivlin, 82, considered resigning to avoid tapping Netanyahu for the job for the fourth time in two years despite his criminal indictment and failure to form a stable government after four stalemated elections.
