Ehud Olmert could resign as Prime Minister of Israel after publication on Monday of a report into last summerÂ’s war in Lebanon.And good riddance if he does.
The government-appointed inquiry into the conflict has reached “conclusions of a personal nature against the Prime Minister himself”, a spokesman for the commission said. Its findings are considered so controversial that the draft report is being guarded over the weekend by the secret service. Aides of Mr Olmert, who is already facing corruption allegations, hinted that he would step down if the report recommended such a move.
And maybe move somewhere else, to live out his days under an assumed name?
The inquiry, led by the retired judge Eliahu Winograd, will analyse the first five days of fighting and IsraelÂ’s decision to launch the war after Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers last July.
Try the last half of the war, when decisions were made in the A.M., to be overturned in the P.M.
With the soldiers still missing and the army suffering heavy casualties, the Israeli public has long regarded the Second Lebanon War as a failure, punishing Mr Olmert with an approval rating of just 2 per cent. The commissionÂ’s findings are rumored to be especially harsh, finding Mr Olmert and Amir Peretz, the Defence Minister, personally responsible for failing to stop Hezbollah from firing rockets at Israel and to recover the missing soldiers.
Mr Olmert’s closest aides began yesterday to pave the way for him to go. “There is no doubt that everything recommended by the Winograd Commission, which enjoys the confidence of the population will be applied — including if it delivers personal recommendations,” Lior Horev, one of Mr Olmert’s advisers, told army radio.
Political analysts speculated that even if Mr Olmert managed to survive the immediate controversy, any damage to his credibility would prevent him from leading Israel effectively.
If he couldn't quite manage to do that before the war, and he hasn't done it since the way, it's doubtful things're gonna change.
“This could definitely spell the end to his political career. If the rumours are true, it’s hard to imagine how he could ever recover,” Yaaron Ezrahi, a professor of political science at Hebrew University, said.
Mr Olmert and Mr Peretz have maintained publicly that the war was an overall success, forcing Hezbollah guerrillas back from the border and creating a buffer zone patrolled by an international peacekeeping force.