Word: olmert
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...Olmert's departure, though long awaited, has plunged Israeli politics into turmoil. One Haaretz columnist joked that Livni would have an easier time recruiting enemy Syria to her side than trying to woo over rebellious Knesset members. His remarks come after a Damascus daily glowingly referred to her as a "Mossad beauty" because Livni, now 50, had served as a junior Israeli spy in Europe during the 1980s...
Even before Olmert handed in his terse, two-sentence resignation to President Shimon Peres Sunday night, Livni was trying to shore up support over the weekend for a new government. She already faces one handicap: she emerged as Kadima chairwoman after a bruising leadership battle that has left her party divided. Livni has 42 days to form a new coalition representing 61 of the 120 Knesset seats. If she fails, under Israeli law, President Peres will turn to another politician - most likely Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud, the conservative opposition party - to see if he fares any better. If not, Israel...
First, Livni will try to glue back together the coalition fabricated by Olmert with the Labor Party along with smaller parties representing pensioners and the ultra-orthodox lobby. She is trying to bring Labor on board again by offering them a "real partnership" - making key concessions that Olmert would not. She will have to contend with the ego of Labor leader Ehud Barak, a medaled ex-general and former Prime Minister who finds it difficult to take orders from Livni, a relative newcomer to Israeli politics. Experts say that Barak wants Livni to give Labor better cabinet posts...
Next, Livni will turn her brusque charm on Shas, the ultra-orthodox party that was the most problematic member of Olmert's coalition. Shas was the main obstacle to Olmert's attempts to make peace with the Palestinians, and its leaders have already warned Livni that they will not join a coalition that divides Jerusalem into a capital for both Israelis and Palestinians. This will leave Livni as hamstrung as Olmert was in trying to follow the U.S.-sponsored road map for peace...
...Olmert's last official cabinet meeting on Sunday had a touch of the surreal: at first the Premier chatted about Wall Street's woes and Israel's basketball win over the Czech team before announcing offhandedly that he was resigning. Several hours later he dropped his resignation letter off at the President's residence. The normally loquacious Olmert summed up his resignation in two sentences. Peres later said, "I respect the dignified manner in which [Olmert] is transferring authority...