Olmert might be forced to resign, says Kadima official

Senior ruling party source says Kadima likely to opt for replacing Olmert if Winograd war report's conclusions do not allow him to remain in office. 'Early elections are out of the question, Livni or Mofaz can replace him in post,' he states

As the release of Winograd Commission's final report on the Second Lebanon War approaches, speculations in the political arena are mounting and MKs begin preparing for the report's aftermath.

A senior Kadima official told Ynet Monday that many in the faction have already agreed to promote the election of a new chairman in case the report's conclusions do not allow Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to remain in office.

"The members agree that early elections are out of the question," he said. "If the final report does not allow Olmert to continue in his position, we will have to elect a new chairman that will replace him as prime minister."

The senior official stated that Olmert was expected to resign if the report indicated that he should do so. "There is no reason why we should go to early elections. There are good forces in Kadima that can contend over leadership, such as (Foreign Minister Tzipi) Livni and (Transportation Minister Shaul) Mofaz."

According to the source, the faction would "strongly object" to a situation in which Olmert and Labor leader Ehud Barak jointly agree on pushing forward the elections. "We will not allow Olmert to be a lame duck party chairman and prime minister," he concluded. Link