A source close to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert quoted by the Yisrael HaYom daily stated on Monday that “Olmert knows in the next election, he will not be part of Kadima.”

“Olmert has a decisive position in the party, but nevertheless he is well-aware that the situation is irreversible.”

Regarding elections for Knesset, it is becoming increasingly likely that the nation will go to the polls in November.

In Kadima, senior party officials are busy preparing for a primary race, each hoping to be elected to the party’s top slot. They too are aware that Olmert is most unlikely to succeed in extricating himself from his current legal woes.

While polls show Tzipi Livni as the likely successor to Olmert, party officials are aware that this may actually hurt Kadima, since Livni heading the party would present a scenario that pushes Labor leader Ehud Barak to move to new elections. On the other hand, Shaul Mofaz would present Barak with a working partner, and also be a more acceptable candidate to Shas, permitting the current coalition to continue following Olmert’s resignation.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)