The ruling Kadima party is at a point at which it must make decisions and prepare for any scenario, including early elections, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Thursday regarding the ongoing corruption investigation against party leader Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Livni, also a senior member of the Kadima party, made the remarks at an international security conference at the Inbal Hotelin Jerusalem, adding she is a firm believer in the primary system and that she favors a party primary to give the public a say in choosing a leader so that "we can operate to restore the trust in Kadima."
Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni speak during a news conference after the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East in Sharm el-Sheikh, May 18, 2008. She said Thurdays that the ruling Kadima party is at a point at which it must make decisions and prepare for any scenario, including early elections. (Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo)
"We cannot ignore the events of the past few days. This is not just a legal matter, and it does not pertain solely to the prime minister as a private person – these are questions that are related to the values and norms that we want to instill and their effect on the public's trust in Israeli politics," local daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Livni as saying.
Livni, who would take over as Kadima chairperson should Olmert suspend himself or resign, had been one of the few politicians who kept silent as the political storm brewed following the deposition of Jewish American businessman Morris Talansky. Now her breaking of silent further built up pressure on Olmert.
