JERUSALEM (AP)– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief competitor was picked on Thursday as the brand-new speaker of parliament, an unexpected step that might pave the way to a power-sharing offer between the two men as the nation grapples with a worsening coronavirus crisis.
The sudden turnabout by Benny Gantz, who has actually invested the previous year trying to topple Netanyahu in 3 undetermined elections, appeared to offer the embattled prime minister a brand-new lease on life as he prepares to go on trial for corruption charges. It likewise drew angry criticism from his political partners and looked likely to rip apart his Blue and White party, an alliance of thee-anti-Netanyahu factions.
The vote passed 74-18, with much of Gantz’s former allies, including half of Blue and White, avoiding the vote.
” Democracy has actually won,” Gantz declared in his first speech as speaker, saying he had actually taken the out of favor step to handle the nationwide emergency situation.
” These are not regular days and they require irregular decisions. Therefore as I said, I mean to analyze and advance in every way the establishment of national emergency situation federal government,” he stated. “We will not compromise on the principles that more than 1 million citizens chose. Netantyahu knows that well.”
But in a string of speeches ahead of the vote, a string of opposition legislators who had all formerly backed Gantz streamed into the empty parliament chamber one after another to rail ag