Israeli Blond Ambition

Oh, my, my, Livni your ambition is showing. The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Kadima Foreign Minister Livni has publicly called for Olmert’s resignation in light of the Winograd interim report:

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called upon Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign Wednesday, but the move appeared to backfire as the rebellion inside their Kadima Party appeared to peter out. When Olmert convened the Kadima faction at the Knesset, only three Kadima MKs came out against him: Livni, MK Marina Solodkin and coalition chairman Avigdor Yitzhaki. At the start of the meeting, Yitzhaki tendered his resignation and he was replaced by Olmert loyalist MK Tzahi Hanegbi.

Olmert's opponents said some lawmakers who had intended to criticize the prime minister decided at the last minute to remain silent. A defiant premier vowed to quash all attempts to force him to leave the Prime Minister's Office. "I am not in the most comfortable situation, but I am older than 60, I've seen a lot in my life and I've learned not to run from responsibility in any situation or condition," Olmert told the lawmakers.

Olmert decided against firing Livni on Wednesday, preferring to punish her by letting her fate remain undetermined. But the prime minister was angered by her behavior and he told her in a one-on-one meeting that she could not threaten him and expect to remain his No. 2. In a slap at Livni, Olmert told the cabinet, "Anyone who is impatient to use the Winograd Report for political gain will have to wait."

Some Olmert advisers warned him not to fire Livni because it could aid her campaign for the Kadima leadership, while others said her behavior warranted immediate dismissal. Tal Zilberstein, Olmert's strategic adviser, condemned Livni as an "unethical coward." He said Olmert had no choice but to fire her, because "in the business world, any No. 2 who says the No. 1 should go and she should stay would be fired."

Possible replacements for Livni include Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz and former justice minister Haim Ramon, but Olmert could decide to keep Livni as foreign minister while removing her title of vice premier. Livni told reporters at her press conference that she intended to seek the Kadima leadership. If Olmert were to resign, the 25,000 Kadima members would elect a new chairman within two months.

"Kadima should elect its leader democratically in a primary, and when the time comes, I will be a candidate," Livni said. "A leader must be chosen whom the party and the public can trust." She told Olmert that resigning was "the right thing for him to do." Livni said she was not trying to topple him but to convince him that he should quit on his own volition.

Whether Olmert resigning is the right thing for him to do or not there is something unseemly with this Israeli version of a Belinda-lite suggesting he should resign while she should keep her position in cabinet and possibly assume the Prime Minister’s office chair. If she had any real convictions she would have resigned when Olmert didn’t.

Of course, Livni is typical of so-called blond ambition who wants it all but not the working for it part. Ynet News carried this little nugget from her press conference:

Livni warned however that she would not back no-confidence motions in the Knesset by opposition parties seeking to push Israel for new elections, saying that Kadima was the right platform to elect a new prime minister. "There were rumors that I was working to oust the prime minister. This never happened. That is a decision that he should take," Livni said.

"I believe that Kadima should stay and run the State of Israel. When the time comes, I will announce my candidacy for the party's leadership," she said. "I believe general elections would be a mistake as the State of Israel needs stability. If the prime minister decides to resign, I believe the Knesset can put a government together."

Here’s the real deal. If Livni had to face the Israeli electorate as leader of Kadima tomorrow; the party would go to 9-10 seats in the Knesset and the prime minister’s office would be nothing more than a dream and she knows it. She’d be eating Shas dust. Her best chance is to try to oust Olmert in a coup while Kadima remains the government.

But you know what I find strange. How come the Man most likely never to win an election has yet to stake out a claim?