Barely 18 months after he was ousted as prime minister, battling corruption charges and estranged from former allies, Benjamin Netanyahu is poised for a remarkable return to power at the head of the most rightwing government in Israeli history.

Following an unexpectedly clear-cut victory in last month’s election, the Likud party has clinched provisional deals with all five of the far-right and religious groups with which the 73-year-old hopes to form a government. On Thursday night, Netanyahu requested that Israel’s president grant him a further two weeks to finalise the process.

The outline of the new government has been hailed by supporters, who see it as a once-in-a-generation chance to remake Israel in their own deeply conservative and religious image. But the anti-Arab, homophobic and sexist rhetoric of some of its potential key figures, along with plans to dismantle judicial checks and balances, have sparked a backlash from liberal opponents and growing unease among Israel’s allies.