As Israel's political establishment prepares for the day after the next election, analyst and commentator Riki Maman has published a breakdown of the four main scenarios that could emerge in the race to form the next government.
Writing in Makor Rishon, Maman outlined the first and simplest scenario: the opposition bloc reaches 61 mandates or more and forms a government. The second scenario sees the current coalition bloc reach 61 mandates or more and assemble a coalition.
The remaining two scenarios deal with a tie or an inconclusive result between the blocs. The third scenario assumes neither side reaches 61 mandates, but Gadi Eisenkot has more mandates than Benjamin Netanyahu, a situation in which Eisenkot could form a minority government with external support or reliance on the Arab parties. The fourth scenario describes a situation in which neither bloc has 61 mandates, but Netanyahu has more mandates than Eisenkot, which would almost certainly lead to another round of elections.
