MKs thinking about the next coalition

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
As the Knesset speculated Wednesday over what the interim findings of the Winograd Committee might spell for the future of the government, they explored the scenarios by which it might be replaced. The first option would see Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tender his resignation to acting President Dalia Itzik. The president would then have one week to notify the Knesset who she thinks the next head of government should be. A majority of 61 MKs would make that person the next prime minister. The second option would see the Knesset plenum vote on a bill to disperse the government. MK Yisrael Katz (Likud) has already submitted such a bill, which would need the support of two-thirds of the Knesset to pass. If that happened, the Knesset would be dispersed and the country would go to the ballot box three months later. The third option would see one of the lawmakers currently vying for the premiership garner the support of 61 MKs needed to form their own coalition. If that candidate could garner the support of 61 legislators for a vote of confidence, they would become prime minister without an election taking place.