Livni. Must take distance from Olmert
Photo: Amit Shabi
Olmert taking leave of absence?
Photo: Reuters
Livni aide: Olmert must leave office now
Following attorney general's decision to file indictment against prime minister in Rishon Tours affair, Kadima chairwoman calls for urgent faction meeting. Aide to Livni says Olmert should let her be appointed prime minister now
Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni will call an urgent faction meeting in Petah Tikvah on Thursday afternoon.
Top Kadima officials said Livni asked all faction members to attend the meeting and that she planned to make a "piercing statement" on Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's decision to file an indictment against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Rishon Tours double-billing affair.
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Following the publication of Mazuz's decision, Livni consulted with her aides and officials in her campaign headquarters.
One Livni aide said, "Olmert can take a leave of absence even though he has resigned. At any given moment he can write a letter that he 'cannot go on' and leave his post. This is exactly what he should do: Leave his post, and allow Livni to be appointed prime minister."
Livni is currently acting prime minister, and so if Olmert decides to take a leave of absence, Livni will automatically take his place.
Even if the prime minister decides not to take a leave of absence, the aide said Livni should continue to distance herself and Kadima from Olmert and draw a clear line between Livni's public integrity and Olmert's path.
A Prime Minister's Office spokesperson said, "Olmert has already resigned from his position. Therefore, it is clear that there is no meaning or grounds, legal or otherwise, to further announce a leave of absence.
"Just as he committed to do, the prime minister plans to fill his position until a new government is set up in Israel, just as the law and his responsibility to run the State's matters require."
