Senior Labor MK Ofir Pines told Channel One TV’s ‘Today in the News’ that the Kadima party is intentionally dragging its feet and postponing decisions towards ending Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s tenure as the nation’s leader.

Pines stated that Olmert is unable to make major decisions because he has lost his mandate from the nation and he must step down and permit the government to continue operating under a new leader or move to early elections.

Pines acknowledged that while selecting a date for primaries is indeed an internal Kadima matter, it is Labor’s concern that the current government does not drag on without a defined date for elections of a new Kadima leader or national elections.

Pines pointed out that during a Kadima meeting on Monday, faction leader Tzachi Hanegbi spoke of amending the party’s charter. In a meeting last week and two weeks ago pointed out Pines, Kadima officials did more or less the same thing, avoiding the primary responsibility of setting a date for primaries.

“Kadima does not have a leader but a dictator. First it was Sharon and today Olmert,” explained Pines, who stated the party has never held leadership elections and Sharon’s charter is such that the party leader maintains all the power and the others can only continue working to amend the charter to create new realities.

The former Labor minister stated a party does not require more than 45 days to set up primaries, and it can even be accomplished in 30. While Labor prefers to continue in the present government with a new Kadima-appointed prime minister, it will push to new elections is left with no other alternative.

Pines, who is a member of Knesset since 1996 stated he has enough experience to know that Kadima is intentionally buying time and at the end of the day, the other parties may determine realities by dissolving the current Knesset. He concluded that Labor leader Ehud Barak prefers to permit the current government to continue, but this does not mean Kadima is being given a card blanche to continue indefinitely without moving to replace the prime minister.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)