Tel-Chai Nation

Following his refusal to wage an effective war on the Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ehud Olmert has been backing away from what he called the convergence plan, which was really just more withdrawals and expulsions from Judea/Samaria, albeit not entirely. From Haaretz (via IRIS Blog):

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said this week that in view of the war in Lebanon and the significant damage caused to the residents of northern Israel, his convergence plan was no longer at the top of his government's agenda.

Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit (Kadima) said on Friday that Olmert's convergence plan would not be carried out in the "near future."

Sheetrit added however that Olmert's unilateral West Bank plan was not off his agenda altogether.

Whoops, that's why we need to keep a sharp eye on him, now don't we?

And while we're on the subject, Anshel Pfeffer, who actually voted for Kadima and is still in some ways an apologist for Olmert, is still shilling for him, in a manner of speaking (also via IRIS Blog). Here's where he's rather exaggerating about something:

Olmert's leadership of Kadima was only accepted following Ariel Sharon's January 4 stroke because there was no time for a contest before the elections, and then he was already the elected prime minister. Now that his popularity is taking a nosedive, senior Kadima members are becoming concerned that their party's future might be linked to Olmert's personal political survival.

The first open signs of dissent were visible last week when Construction and Housing Minister Meir Sheetrit publicly backed a state commission of inquiry into the war, a direct affront to Olmert and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik. The latter suddenly came out with a blueprint for an emergency unity government, and even met with Binyamin Netanyahu to discuss it, without asking party leader Olmert first.

Add Sheetrit and Itzik to other disaffected senior members of Olmert's cabinet, Tzipi Livni, Shimon Peres and Shaul Mofaz, who all feel that Olmert disregarded their expert advice throughout the war, and a Kadima coup seems like just a matter of time.

Is Pfeffer saying that he thinks Kadima could really survive as a party? Frankly, I think that's going a long way, and I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. Especially after seeing a report on NFC that some Kadima members could be leaving, and without even Olmert, I'd say that the party is even more doomed than before. Because the leaders are basically nobodies.

Labels: Lebanon