Israel's opposition leader vows to form alternative govt

TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Shelly Yachimovich, leader of Israel's opposition Labor party, vowed early Wednesday morning to form an alternative government to replace the current ruling coalition led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Tonight could be a big opportunity to establish an alternative government to Netanyahu's government," Yachimovich said in a speech at the Labor Party's headquarters in Tel Aviv.

She was speaking to supporters shortly after exit polls showed her party got 17 seats in the new parliament, trailing Netanyahu's Likud-Beitenu union (31 seats) and the centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party (18-19 seats).

"I will do whatever within my power to gather all relevant political forces to counter bloc the extreme right-wing. There's a very real chance that the real time results would reveal that Netanyahu isn't able to form a government," she stressed.

"I would strive to form a social government that would look to restart the peace process," she said, adding that Netanyahu's weakness is a "direct result of the social justice protest" and that "The Israeli public denounced Netanyahu's policies." According to the exit polls conducted by Israel's major broadcasters, the right-wing Likud-Beitenu joint list will be the largest party in the new parliament, giving Netanyahu the right to form a new ruling coalition. If he fails to do so within 42 days, President Shimon Peres would ask the leader of another party to fulfill the task.

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