“IDF Radio" (Galei Zahal) reports that Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni has the support of most of Kadima following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement that he will not seek the premiership in the upcoming party primaries in September. Ministers and MKs will announce their support to the candidates in the coming days. Minister of Finance Ronnie Bar-On, Vice Premier Haim Ramon and MK Tzachi Hanegbi are the center of attention. MKs have already begun consulting to create a bloc of support for one of the candidates.
Olmert promise in last night's speech not to intervene in the primaries affected the candidacy of Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz, who had counted on Olmert's support. Mofaz nevertheless told “IDF Radio" this morning that he had a good chance of winning.
Mofaz said that as broad a government as possible should be established. "I have a good, even very good, chance of creating a coalition. The members of the current coalition want to keep it, and I think that other members will join a coalition led by me. I intend to establish a national unity government and national emergency government that will be as broad as possible," he added.
Mofaz continued, "I hope that Kadima members will choose the right man who will face the challenges and lead the country. They face a heavy responsibility today - to choose the next prime minister."
The Kadima party voters' lists will be closed today, and the final list of candidates will be determined on August 24. The primaries will be held on September 17, after which the winner will have to establish a new government. If he or she fails, general elections will have to be held within three months.
Both Kadima and the Labor Party increasingly believe that no new government will be established by the current Knesset, and that elections are the most probable option. This means that the votes of MKs and ministers will largely depend on general election polls and less on internal party polls.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 31, 2008
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