Resignation after the Resignation

Shalom All,

That Ehud Olmert will not run for the leadership of Kadima in upcoming elections is hardly surprising. Not only is he facing accusations of corruption, but almost no one thinks that he has done a good job as Prime Minister. He led Israel through a disasterous mess in Lebanon, allowed Hamas to take over Gaza, watches as qassam after qassam lands in S'derot and simply gave in to Hizballah in a prisoner exchange. If the Israeli economy were not doing very well, Olmert would have been ousted long ago. Frankly, Olmert is no longer the issue. The issue is what happens now.

For certain, Israel cannot procede with any serious negotiations until a new Prime Minister takes office. The peace process is therefore on hold. For a little while, so are any plans to attack Iran or seek an agreement with Syria. Who will become the new PM?

Tsipi Livni is the favorite choice of many. She is a moderate who unlike the other choices does not have a long laundry list of negatives. I tend to believe that with the threat of a nuclear Iran increasing, Bibi Netanyahu has a fair shot at becoming the next Prime Minister and a strike on Iran would almost certainly follow his election.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

-David