Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
Olmert slams Kadima over skepticism
Prime minister slams Kadima members for bad atmosphere that is hanging over party, says Israel's standing in world has never been better
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
lashed out on Monday at members of his Kadima party for what he labeled as a bad atmosphere among their ranks.
"If we forget for one second the tumult, the fervor and the way in which the Israeli public discourse is being managed, and look for a moment at the situation in the eyes of the international economic expert, we will find him speaking praises about the way in which we are managing things," he said at a meeting of the Kadima faction.
Olmert Unpopular
Poll conducted by Dahaf Institute for Knesset Channel shows public's dissatisfaction with prime minister; 69 percent of Israelis think Olmert's leadership capabilities aren't good; 45 percent say if Olmert fires Amir Peretz, their opinion of him will improve
"There has never been a more comfortable period for the State of Israel as the present period … We have to understand that reality is good and only the polls are not – and thank God this is so. Imagine this was different," he said.
Turning is attention to his meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Olmert said: "We agreed that she returns in a short while and we hold trilateral talks with Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas). We both agree that the Road Map is the basis of the process. It was agreed that any Palestinian government that wants to be recognized has to accept the Quartet principles.
"If a unity government that doesn't recognize these principles is formed, it will not be recognized. That's also the position of the American president," he said.
Olmert also spoke of the Iranian nuclear threat which he described as a "worrying" issue.
"I believe that the world and us know how to deal with the present threat, but, please, we need to stop instilling fear of an existential threat just to grab more headlines … There is no need to make the threat worst than it is," he said.
Olmert's popularity plunged since last summer's war with Hizbullah, and in a recent Dahaf poll conducted for the Knesset Channel 77 percent of respondents said they were unsatisfied with his tenure.
Meanwhile Kadima members set up a special committee to check whether to choose a candidate for the chairmanship of Israel's largest workers' union, the Histadrut, in May.
