Haim Ramon
Photo: AFP
New leader. Livni
Photo: AFP
Staying on? Olmert
Photo: AP
Ramon: Olmert's immediate resignation tactical mistake
Vice premier urges Livni to ask PM to stay on until new government assembled 'so as not to lose control of the process'. MK Hanegbi: Only the Olmert's immediate resignation will advance process
While Kadima is going to great lengths present a united front following this week's election of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as its new leader, a major dispute surfaced during the faction's first meeting under her leadership regarding Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's expected resignation.
Kadima Meeting
Amnon Meranda
Transportation minister absent from first Kadima faction meeting under Livni's leadership. 'We must remain united; we have a country to run,' new chairwoman tells party members
Livni urged Olmert to step down immediately, saying "from this moment on we must act fast – we have a country t run"; however, Vice Premier Haim Ramon, Olmert's confidante, said the chairwoman should ask the PM to stay on until she assembles a new coalition "so as not to lose control of the process (of establishing a new government).
"It would be a tactical mistake to ask Olmert to resign before a new coalition is formed," Ramon said during Friday morning's meeting, which was held at Kadima's Petah Tikva headquarters.
Knesset Member Tzachi Hanegbi took Livni's side, saying "only the PM's immediate resignation will advance the process (of forming a new government) and clarify our options as far as political partnerships are concerned."
MK Zeev Elkin, who backed Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz in the party's primary elections, did not attend the meeting. "This is not the time for a victory," he told Ynet, "the wounds have yet to heal, and many (Mofaz) supporters still feel that they had been cheated out of a victory in the primaries."
Senior officials in Mofaz's election campaign vowed to stand by Livni despite their claims of irregularities in the ruling party's primary elections.
