19 September 2008

Olmerts retirement - heads or tails?

David Hazony, in The Last of Olmert? tries to predict whether we are seeing the end of Olmert's political career this September, after the elections in Kadima.

The most striking conclusion is that he has no intention of going anywhere. In other words, even if he quits his post as Prime Minister, Olmert has every intention of continuing to play a vital role in the Israeli government, either as Foreign Minister or, more likely, in a major advisory role in Israeli foreign policy.
That is reaching a bit, I think, but weirder things have happened. I am not sure Olmert is up to doing a Putin here, but who knows indeed.

The Elders are not taking bets at the moment.

P.S. After some mulling: the real question that should be asked about Olmert's delaying tactics is not whether he will go eventually, but what it is he plans to do between his announcement of retirement and the real retirement date. It could be that he plans to go with a bang, rather than with a whimper, but this is for Mahmoud the Mad to ponder...

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