Livni calls on Israel's Olmert to resign 'quickly' (2nd Roundup)

Sep 19, 2008, 12:27 GMT

One day after securing the leadership of Israel\'s ruling party, Tzipi Livni called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to implement his promise to resign as soon as possible, allowing her to form a new government urgently EPA/JIM HOLLANDER

Tel Aviv - One day after securing the leadership of Israel's ruling party, Tzipi Livni called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to implement his promise to resign as soon as possible, allowing her to form a new government urgently.

The Israeli foreign minister - chairing the first meeting of the centrist Kadima party since she won primaries held Wednesday - also called for unity within the faction, and expressed 'regret' at the surprise decision of her main party rival, Shaul Mofaz, to take a timeout from politics.

'The prime minister has announced - a long time ago - that he will resign immediately after the results of the primaries are known, ' Livni told Kadima legislators and ministers at the party's headquarters in Petah Tiqwa, near Tel Aviv.

'From this moment on, because we have a state to run, we must act quickly,' she said. 'We don't have much time to fool around.'

Neither Olmert nor Mofaz attended the meeting.

Olmert's spokesman said the Israeli premier may resign as early as next week.

'He will notify the cabinet on Sunday and then he will go to the president to give his formal letter of resignation,' Mark Regev told Deutche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Final coordination was needed between Olmert and President Shimon Peres as to the second part of the formal procedure - submission of the letter of resignation, Regev said.

This could be Sunday or Monday, but also after Peres returns from the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. Peres was due to leave for New York Monday night.

Livni has already begun informal coalition talks, meeting Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party at her Tel Aviv home Thursday night. Shas is a key partner in the current coalition, but has raised tough demands.

Livni also met Friday with Pensioners Party leader Rafi Eitan Friday, who placed his support behind her, and the chairman of the left-liberal Meretz party. She said she would meet others next week.

Formal notification to his cabinet by the premier that he will step down is a requirement under Israeli law. The resignation, however, only takes effect 48 hours after submission to the president. It automatically means the resignation of the entire cabinet, which then becomes a transitional government.

The president then has seven days to give the task of forming a new government to someone else, for which Livni will have 42 days. If she fails, new elections will be held within 90 days, or by March 2009, a year early.

Olmert, plagued by suspicions of corruption, announced his intention to resign in July. He had earlier agreed to allow his centrist Kadima party to elect a new leader, and Livni, 50, Olmert's deputy and Israel's chief negotiator, narrowly beat Mofaz, 60, with a margin of 1.1 per cent, or just 431 votes.

Official results published Thursday showed her obtaining 41.3 per cent of the vote, against 40 per cent for Mofaz. The other two candidates, Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, each won 8.5 and 6.5 per cent of the vote.

Mofaz dramatically announced Thursday that he would be quitting the Knesset and also forgo a post in any new government. He also cancelled a meeting with Livni scheduled for Friday.

'The time has come for me to take a break,' Mofaz told his campaign headquarters near Tel Aviv Thursday night.

'I want to consider my future and different ways that I can contribute to Israeli society, to the state and to my family,' he said, adding he would stay a member of Kadima.

The announcement stunned his supporters and also Livni, whose aides said they tried to reach Mofaz and persuade him to reconsider.

'I was surprised to say the least. All the activists were surprised,' Kadima legislator and Mofaz backer Ronit Tirosh told Israel Radio. 'He just closed himself inside with his family, wrote what he wrote, and in the evening he dropped the bomb.'

Mofaz, 60, a former army chief of staff and defence minister and a comparative hawk within Kadima, currently serves as transport minister. He is also Israel's representative in talks coordinating the policies of Israel and its ally the United States toward Iran's nuclear programme.

A government official said Friday a replacement would have to be found for that crucial post.

Commentators said Mofaz' departure could weaken Livni, saying she had lost in the Iranian-born not only a high-profile representative of Jewish Israelis of Sephardic (oriental) background, but also an authority in the field of security.

'There won't be camps within Kadima. Yesterday's rivalry ended yesterday,' Livni said, responding to reports of bitterness among some Mofaz supporters, who could try to form an anti-Livni opposition within the party.

Livni also warned current partners, including Shas and the Labour Party, against 'exploiting this festive opportunity' to open existing coalition agreements and 'extort' Kadima, stressing she was 'not afraid' of early elections, although these were 'superfluous.'