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| By israelinsider staff May 2, 2007 |
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Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign Wednesday, saying that Kadima should hold primary elections to elect a replacement for Olmert. But she refused to resign herself, and said she would continue to serve in the government.
The Foreign Minister said, "I told the prime minister in private talks that resignation would be the right thing."
"The public has lost faith in the government," she added. "We must restore it immediately."
Olmert is said to have responded by telling Livni that she can't launch a campaign to bring him down while holding on to her post of Deputy Prime Minister. "You cannot subvert me and remain my number 2. You need to weigh your moves and decide what you want to do," he reportedly told her.
Despite the apparent ultimatum, Livni also said at the press conference in Jerusalem that she intends on running for the party's leadership.
"It's not a personal matter between me and the prime minister -- this issue is more important than both of us," she said.
Livni reported that she would not support no-confidence motions from opposition parties in Knesset, explaining that she believes the new prime minister should come from Kadima since it has the right platform.
The Foreign Minister conceded that entering a war against Hizbullah last summer was the right decision, but said she had voted against an escalation of the hostilities. Livni also faulted Olmert, saying there had been no coordination with the Prime Minister's Office during the war.
Livni addressed reports that she was meeting secretly with other Kadima members in an effort to drive out Olmert, saying, "There were rumors that I was working to oust the prime minister. This never happened. That is a decision that he should take."
When asked by reporters whether Livni's statement was an ultimatum for the Prime Minister, she said that other Kadima ministers had recommended the same thing.
Following the press conference, an Olmert aide said the prime minister would be forced to fire Livni. "After she did what she did, there is no other alternative but to fire her, as her conduct was improper," Tal Zilberstein, Olmert's strategic advisor told Ynet. |
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