Jerusalem – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared to face down a revolt within his party Wednesday over his decision to remain in office after an investigative committee found “serious failings” in his management of the Lebanon war last summer.
The most prominent former ally to call for his resignation was popular Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is next in line for his job.
Speaking at a news conference after meeting with Olmert, Livni said she told the prime minister “resignation is the right option.”
But Livni said she would remain in Olmert’s Cabinet and oppose any effort in parliament to topple his government. Doing so would trigger new elections, and opinion polls show that their Kadima party has lost significant public support.
“This is a decision that he must make,” said Livni, who disclosed that she would run for the party leadership. “I believe Kadima must remain and lead the state of Israel.”
Livni’s statement, which brought calls from some Kadima lawmakers that she be fired, highlighted the dilemma facing the governing party as it contends with the sharp criticism leveled against Olmert.
A poll published Wednesday in the Maariv daily showed that 73 percent felt Olmert should resign, and only 17 percent said he should remain in office. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points.
A majority of Kadima’s 29-member parliamentary bloc appears to be backing Olmert, whose aides worked through the day to shore up support.
The head of Kadima’s parliamentary faction, Avigdor Itzchaky, warned early in the day that he would demand Olmert’s resignation “in order for Kadima to return to being a legitimate ruling party.” When Olmert declined, Itzchaky resigned as faction leader.
Olmert appointed the five-member investigative panel, headed by retired Judge Eliyahu Winograd, last September to examine Israel’s performance in a 33-day war that failed to achieve its stated goals and exposed the country’s north to repeated rocket barrages.
In interim findings, the committee concluded that Olmert, who had never held a security post, failed to ask for a detailed military plan to secure the release of soldiers captured by Hezbollah, which sparked the conflict. It also said Israel’s army was “not ready for this war,” casting blame on Defense Minister Amir Peretz and the chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, who has resigned.
