What role does Isaac Herzog play after Israel's 2026 election, according to James Landale?

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale said President Isaac Herzog receives the formal results, then spends a week consulting party leaders before choosing who has the best chance of forming a coalition. That person gets a month, extendable by about two weeks. If they fail, someone else gets a turn, and repeated failure leads back to an election. Choosing whether Benjamin Netanyahu or Gadi Eisenkot goes first gives Herzog substantial power.

• Netanyahu's coalition won the most seats but fell short of a majority, losing about 15 seats.
• The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats and Arab-led parties won 19.
• Herzog has said publicly that he does not want another election.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-10-30). Read the whole episode summary →

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