With both leading candidates unable to form a government following the September 17 election, the next few weeks are set to become a blame-game between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, each accusing the other for the political deadlock and the prospect of yet another election.

It has been a week since President Reuven Rivlin gave him the mandate to form a government but Mr Netanyahu is expected to return it in the coming days — without using the entire 28-day period allowed by law. Talks between Likud and Blue & White have broken down and Mr Gantz even cancelled a scheduled meeting with the prime minister on Wednesday.

The official reason for doing so was Likud’s insistence on negotiating with Blue & White on behalf of the entire bloc of right-wing and religious parties. In reality, Mr Gantz does not want politics to overshadow the pre-trial hearing in Mr Netanyahu’s corruption investigations.

Both men are trying to build a narrative and work on different timetables. Mr Netanyahu is portraying Mr Gantz, and especially his number two Yair Lapid, as refusing the framework for a unity government that President Rivlin proposed last week. On Wednesday he tweeted that “the only reason there isn’t a unity government is Yair Lapid. Lapid is holding Gantz hostage and for unclear reasons Gantz is surrendering to him.”

Mr Netanyahu wants to reach the end of the coalition-building period as soon as possible and then threaten to hold a third election — for which he hopes the public will blame Mr Gantz. Crucially, he wants to enter the next election campaign before the attorney-general decides to indict him.

But Mr Gantz, who has repeatedly promised not to serve under Mr Netanyahu while he is facing criminal charges, is interested in delaying the process as long as possible in the hope that the attorney general announces indictments. In this case, he believes it will be easier to convince Likud to join a government without insisting on Mr Netanyahu remaining at its head.

On Thursday, Mr Netanyahu will meet Avigdor Lieberman for the first time since May, when the Yisrael Beiteinu leader refused to join his government, forcing the second election.

While Mr Lieberman has said that he is willing to broker an agreement, sources close to him said that they do not believe Mr Netanyahu actually wants an agreement and is simply going through the motions before he returns the mandate to the president.