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Israel's Livni vows to form coalition quickly
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni vowed on Thursday to start work immediately on forming a new coalition that will let her succeed the scandal-hit Ehud Olmert as prime minister. After her election as the new leader of Israel's centrist Kadima party, with her narrow victory over party rival Shaul Mofaz, Livni said she would do her best for the sake of national stability. "Tomorrow, I will begin meeting with representatives of the factions in order to form quickly a coalition that can deal with all of these challenges that lie ahead," Livni told reporters outside her home after a final tally of Wednesday's Kadima vote. "On the level of government in Israel, we have to deal with difficult threats," she said. "The national mission ... is to create stability quickly." Livni, considered to be a pragmatist, got 43.1 percent of the votes in a primary election Wednesday against reputed hawk Mofaz, the transport minister who received 42 percent. Her win does not automatically assure her the post of prime minister in the place of Ehud Olmert Olmert, who telephoned Livni with congratulations, has said he will resign as soon as Kadima has a new leader. But the outgoing premier, who could be indicted for corruption, has also vowed to exercise his right to stay on in a caretaker capacity until Livni forges her own, new coalition government. That process, involving deals with ambitious Labor party leader Ehud Barak on the left and influential Jewish religious parties on the right, could take weeks or months. Many believe there may yet be an early parliamentary election, which polls show Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud would win. Posted by: Fred 2008-09-19 |
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