Defense minister: PM can't continue to lead government

THE JERUSALEM POST
gil hoffman, jpost.com staff and AP
May. 28, 2008

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872831060&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down due to the illicit funding investigation against him.

"In the wake of the current situation and considering the challenges Israel faces, including Hamas, Hizbullah, Syria, Iran, the captured soldiers and the peace process, the prime minister cannot simultaneously lead the government and conduct his personal affairs," Barak told a press conference in the Knesset.

"Out of consideration for the good of the country and the accepted norms, I believe the prime minister must detach himself from the day-to-day leadership of the country," continued Barak.
Barak said it was not up to Labor to decide how the prime minister steps aside; that he could temporarily suspend himself or resign.

The defense minister said Kadima must do some "soul searching," to choose its way and leader, warning that if Olmert does not quit, "we will move towards early elections."

"We're not coming to Kadima with a stop watch," he continued. "[But] this has to happen soon, and I mean soon," he said, emphasizing, however, that Labor "must not become involved in internal processes within Kadima."

When asked whether - in light of recent polls showing that he would be handed a resounding defeat by Likud head Binyamin Netanyahu - he was leaning toward trying to form a government with an emergent head of Kadima rather than go to elections, Barak replied that he believes "Labor will win an election."

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni would become caretaker prime minister if Olmert stepped down. The party could then try to form a new government, and if that effort failed elections would likely ensue.

Prior to Barak's press conference, the prime minister's strategic adviser, Tal Zilberstein, said Olmert would not quit since such a move would be tantamount to an admission of guilt.
"Olmert has made a firm decision to continue serving as prime minister, I say this on the basis of a conversation I had with him a short time ago," Zilberstein told Army Radio. "He has no intention of suspending himself or making any sort of announcement, neither at this juncture, nor at any stage while he is in the process of proving his innocence."

"He doesn't have any intention to resign or to step down temporarily, even if Barak asks him to," Zilberstein continued.

Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said the prime minister was continuing his daily schedule, which included convening a top political forum charged with national security and meeting with the governor of the state of Maryland.

"It's business as usual," Regev said.

Following consultations held by Barak late Tuesday night, Israel Radio reported that one of the options being considered by the defense minister was the formation of an emergency government with Likud.

However, Likud MK Silvan Shalom said that he would prefer early elections than an emergency government, estimating that such elections would be held in November.

Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) called on Kadima to do some soul searching and make "difficult decisions."

"An Israeli prime minister must be completely available to deal with the country's problems and not other matters," said Ben-Eliezer in an interview with Israel Radio.

Nevertheless, he stressed that he would not support holding early elections, due to the security situation.

Labor MK Ami Ayalon also called on the prime minister to step down. "Under the current circumstances, Olmert must end his term as prime minister. In the present situation, Olmert doesn't have the ability to lead," he told Israel Radio.

However, Ayalon dismissed talk of a Labor-Likud emergency government calling the idea "unreasonable."

Kadima MK Amira Dotan also called on the prime minister to quit, urging him to demonstrate "personal leadership."

Dotan's comments were echoed by her colleague Ze'ev Elkin. "I am saying what I already said a month-and-a-half ago, the prime minister must resign," Elkin told Israel Radio. "Israel cannot allow such a situation to go on."

Kadima MK Yoel Hasson, who has often come to Olmert's defense, said Olmert was an excellent prime minister, but stopped short of saying that he should remain the premier, saying instead that Olmert had to carefully consider his position in light of the circumstances.

Speaking to Israel Radio, Hasson stressed that even if Olmert steps down, this must not lead to early elections. He said the political establishment was going though a crisis and it would therefore be too difficult to form a new stable coalition.

"We should not go to elections. The Israeli public does not need elections every two years. The coalition can continue and Kadima will continue to lead the Knesset."

The latest developments came a day after New York financier Morris Talansky testified in court to giving Olmert envelopes of his own cash amounting to no less than $150,000.

Since details of the police investigation into Talansky's relationship with Olmert became public two weeks ago, politicians from the Right to the Left have called on the prime minister to resign.
Earlier on Tuesday, a Barak advisor told The Jerusalem Post that the Labor chairman was seriously considering using the theme of "cleaner governance" as a main issue in his campaign.