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Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, has said he will not stand for the leadership of his Kadima party in an election scheduled for September. Olmert, 62, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection to the claims that he received cash-stuffed envelopes from a US businessman, but he said he would step down if indicted. "When a new [Kadima party] chairman is chosen, I will resign as prime minister to permit them to put together a new government swiftly and effectively." "The only reason Kadima is actually holding primaries is because Ehud Olmert is now seen as a political liability," she said.
Morris Talansky, the US businessman at the centre of the allegations, said in testimony to prosecutors in May that he had given money to Olmert on multiple occasions to cover expenses for his stays in the US and pay for his election campaigns as Jerusalem mayor and a Likud MP. David Chater, reporting from Jerusalem for Al Jazeera, said all eyes are focused on the ruling Kadima party's primaries in September. But he added that Shaul Mofaz, the transport minister, was closing the gap and that the former chief of the Israeli army is thought by political insiders to have the "right stuff" to lead the party and the country. Olmert's successor as Kadima party leader would not automatically take over as Israel's prime minister. He or she would first have to forge a coalition government, a challenge that could prove time-consuming and complicated because of bitter divisions within parliament. "Since we want peace and want to negotiate with the Israeli government, we are not dealing with individuals, but the government as a whole. "Whether he [Olmert] is still the prime minister for two days or two months, we will continue to deal with him. If someone comes, we will deal with them, as long as they want to deal with us." Al Jazeera's Rowland said that the talks with the Palestinians, as well as the indirect negotiations with Syria being mediated by Turkey, were "much bigger than the individual man of Ehud Olmert". "But obviously in terms of seeing Olmert himself do anything dynamic or far reaching in terms of the international scene the clock is now ticking." "We are going to look forward to working with all responsible Israeli leaders in the government, whether it is this government or future governments," Sean McCormack, US state department spokesman, said. |