The end of Olmert

[Violet_Crumble]

The Israeli prime minister's decision to step down throws his peace initiatives into doubt and his party into disarray

Richard Silverstein
guardian.co.uk
Wednesday July 30 2008

Ehud Olmert bowed to the inevitable and announced his resignation as Israeli prime minister effective September 17th, the date of the next Kadima party leadership primary. Beset on all sides by up to six separate corruption investigations - the most serious of which involved accepting several hundred thousand dollars in cash and gifts from US businessman Moshe Talansky - Olmert realized that his continued leadership was untenable. In addition, he had little political credibility or traction with the nation because of both his ethical lapses and his failed prosecution of the 2006 war in Lebanon.

There were several options that Olmert could have chosen in resigning. The one he picked will send the Kadima party into a flurry of political jockeying before the primary elections. The leading candidate is centrist foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who has made a name for herself as a political pragmatist, though she comes from a prominent rightist political family. She pointedly departed from Olmert during the Lebanon war and refused to participate in promoting or defending it, a surprisingly independent move for a sitting foreign minister.

Livni's chief challenger is the transportation minister, former IDF commander in chief and hawk Shaul Mofaz. It was Mofaz who single-handedly caused a multi-billion dollar rise in the international price of oil a few weeks ago, with his statement that Israel faced no choice but to attack Iranian nuclear installations. The latest polls (which are inherently unstable in Israeli politics) show Livni with a significant but faltering lead over Mofaz.

The political instability Olmert caused with his resignation portends well for the possible political comeback of perennial prime minister candidate Bibi Netanyahu, leader of the rightist Likud opposition. Should the Kadima-led coalition falter, Netanyahu eagerly waits in the wings for his second opportunity to lead the nation. His first prime ministership was marked by a hardline approach to the Israeli-Arab conflict and an unwillingness to negotiate over major issues dividing the parties.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/30/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast1

[bemildred]

1. Good piece Richard.

I think "mixed legacy" is quite a generous assessment, given the historical facts.

[Scurrilous]

2. Netanyahu calls for new elections

'This government has reached an end and it doesn't matter who heads Kadima,' opposition leader says, adding 'national responsibility requires a return to the people'. Ramon: Chances of holding new vote high

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3575858,00.html

<snip>

"Israel's right-wing Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu called on Thursday for a new parliamentary election after Ehud Olmert pledged to resign following his party's leadership contest in September.

Dogged by corruption scandals, the Israeli prime minister's decision to bow out of the centrist Kadima party's leadership contest on Sept. 17 and then step down plunged the Middle East peace talks and Israeli politics into limbo.

Recent opinion polls suggest Netanyahu's Likud party, a critic of Olmert's peace moves with the Palestinians and Syria, would win a snap election.

"This government has reached an end and it doesn't matter who heads Kadima. They are all partners in this government's total failure," Netanyahu told Israeli Radio.

"National responsibility requires a return to the people and new elections."