JERUSALEM— Israel’s Parliament has elected the even-keeled Labour veteran Isaac Herzog as its 11th president, a vote that came as opposition lawmakers scrambled to forge a coalition to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Herzog, 60, beat former headmistress Miriam Peretz to replace President Reuven Rivlin, who was elected in 2014 to the largely ceremonial position decided by Parliament, or Knesset.
Yesterday’s presidential vote came as Israeli politicians across the spectrum were holding 11th-hour negotiations to cobble together a new administration to end Mr Netanyahu’s 12 straight years in office.
The Israeli presidency exerts little power, primarily meeting party leaders after legislative elections and tasking candidates with forming governments.
It is the country’s prime minister who wields actual executive authority. But the president does have the ability to grant pardons, a potentially important function as Mr Netanyahu faces trial for alleged fraud and bribery.
Mr Herzog, who will assume his position on July 9, succeeded over Mrs Peretz, 67, a former headmistress who lost two children in Israel’s wars.
Earlier, Israel’s centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid moved closer to forming a new government after agreeing on terms with several parties, including one led by Defence Minister Benny Gantz.
Mr Lapid, a 57-year-old former TV host and author, had until midnight yesterday to clinch a deal with his main partner, nationalist Naftali Bennett, who would serve as premier first under a proposed rotation between the two men.
Mr Lapid’s Yesh Atid party and Mr Gantz’s Blue and White said in a joint statement they had “agreed on the outlines of the government and core issues relating to the strengthening of democracy and Israeli society”. Mr Gantz would remain defence minister in the new Cabinet, the parties said.
The United Arab List was also negotiating to join the coalition. If it does, it would be the first time in Israel’s history that an independent Arab party becomes a member of the government.
Mr Herzog’s election on the day that could see Mr Netanyahu’s rivals make moves to take him down is fitting. In 2015, Mr Herzog carried out a bid to oust the premier, presenting himself as a modest, diplomatic contrast to the bombastic “Bibi”.
Mr Herzog, the son of Mr Chaim Herzog – Israel’s sixth president and a former ambassador to the United Nations – supports the two-state solution to the conflict with Palestinians.
