Whoa! I guess somebody's cards are on the table, eh? Here's a portion from the story out at DEBKA here:
Now, Barak is using the veil of the current corruption charges against Olmert as leverage here but bottom line is the defense minister and Olmert have been oil and water since day one. Last time I think they agreed was NOT to go after Hezbollah recently but we don't know all the details of that decision.
But how in the world can Israel operate now with this big tuna laying on the kitchen table? A defense minister who cannot and will not trust the Prime Minister to protect the country is a damn big deal.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next few days but my gut feeling is that Olmert will succumb to his Kadima party's officials who could see him damage the party even more than the country at the moment. But who knows...the Democrats in America can't get rid of Hillary - maybe Olmert's got a bitch streak in him too.
In a tensely awaited statement, defense minister Ehud Barak said: “Considering the situation and the weighty challenges facing the country – Hamas, Hizballah, Syria, Iran and the peace process – Ehud Olmert cannot be considered fit to manage affairs of state and I call upon him to withdraw as prime minister - whether by resigning, taking leave or suspending himself.
Now, Barak is using the veil of the current corruption charges against Olmert as leverage here but bottom line is the defense minister and Olmert have been oil and water since day one. Last time I think they agreed was NOT to go after Hezbollah recently but we don't know all the details of that decision.
But how in the world can Israel operate now with this big tuna laying on the kitchen table? A defense minister who cannot and will not trust the Prime Minister to protect the country is a damn big deal.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next few days but my gut feeling is that Olmert will succumb to his Kadima party's officials who could see him damage the party even more than the country at the moment. But who knows...the Democrats in America can't get rid of Hillary - maybe Olmert's got a bitch streak in him too.
Barak appeals to Olmert’s Kadima party to replace him as prime minister, but no ultimatum
In a tensely awaited statement, defense minister Ehud Barak said: “Considering the situation and the weighty challenges facing the country – Hamas, Hizballah, Syria, Iran and the peace process – Ehud Olmert cannot be considered fit to manage affairs of state and I call upon him to withdraw as prime minister - whether by resigning, taking leave or suspending himself.
Should Kadima, the party headed by Olmert, prove unable to choose an alternative prime minister, Labor, which Barak heads, will seek an early general election on an agreed date.
“We are not waiting for Kadima with a stop watch, but would hope they move quickly,” he said.
DEBKAfile’s political sources note that the Barak announcement disappointed his own party, the political establishment and the population at large, who expected him too take Labor out of the government coalition and schedule a general election.
The defense minister was responding to the corruption case pending against the prime minister, which was strengthened Tuesday, May 27, by the pre-trial testimony of American businessman Morris Talansky at the Jerusalem District Court. Talansky’s affirmation that he handed the prime minister $150,000 in envelopes and unpaid loans over a 15-year period, caused widespread popular outrage and demands for Olmert to step down or otherwise remove himself by taking leave of absence.
A year ago, the defense minister went back on his pledge to quit if the Winograd panel rules against Olmert’s management of the Lebanon War.
Four members of Olmert’s own Kadima have called on him to step down.
DEBKAfile’s political sources note that the prosecution and police investigation of the case against the prime minister has turned up more of the prime minister’s past funding sources in addition to the businessman Talanaksy. The case against him is therefore far from complete.
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