Last update - 00:00 23/04/2007
Watchdog groups may ask court to bar Olmert from treasury
Good-government activist organizations may petition the High Court of Justice to overturn Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to preside as acting finance minister for a period of at least several weeks.
Olmert would replace Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson, who announced Sunday that he is taking a three-month leave of absence from his position, due to the criminal investigation against Hirschson.
Good government organizations charged that this would constitute an improper conflict of interests, due to the criminal investigation against Olmert over his actions during his last stint as finance minister.
Attorney Itzhak Bam from the Land of Israel Legal Forum noted the fact that Olmert is currently under investigation on suspicion of having tried, in his former role as finance minister, to influence a tender for the sale of a controlling stake in Bank Leumi.
"The investigation involves employees of the treasury, and it is improper for Olmert to be in charge of people who might testify against him and incriminate him," Bam wrote.
Ometz, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting corruption and social injustice. charged in letters to Olmert and Mazuz that "the prime minister's decision constituted a gross conflict of interests," because as finance minister, Olmert would be in charge of Accountant General Yaron Zelekha, who initiated the criminal investigation against him.
Lining up to replace Hirchson
Meanwhile, several prominent politicians are vying for the position, under the assumption that Hirchson will not return to the treasury after the investigation against him ends.
Hirchson's decision to step down follows a criminal investigation into his behavior during his stints as chairman of the National Workers Organization and the Nili nonprofit organization. He is suspected of embezzling over NIS 10 million. Yesterday, police briefed Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on the progress of the investigation and informed Mazuz that they had collected enough evidence to support an indictment.
Political sources said that ever since the investigation against Hirchson broke, Olmert has been expecting his close ally and personal friend to suspend himself or resign. Hirchson finally decided to do so over the weekend, after realizing that he might be ordered to do so by Mazuz.
"Given the current public atmosphere, it is best that I step down. I will continue to fight to clear my name, as I am not guilty," Hirchson wrote in a press statement.
Sources close to Olmert said that Hirchson thanked the prime minister for showing him respect and consideration.
The sources added that Olmert intends to hold on to the treasury until after next month's Labor leadership primary. After that, Olmert may opt to appoint a finance minister from outside the political sphere, as he did in the case of Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann. According to the sources, Olmert's chief of staff, Yoram Turbowicz, is in favor of a nonpolitical appointment.
The leading candidates from within the political system are MK Haim Ramon and cabinet ministers Roni Bar-On and Meir Sheetrit.
Ramon is currently serving out his sentence for his January conviction for forcibly kissing a female soldier, and until he finishes doing so, Olmert cannot appoint him. Ramon was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, which he will complete only next month. Even then, however, sources close to Olmert have voiced concern that Ramon's return to the cabinet could upset women's rights organizations, which might ask the High Court of Justice to nix the nomination.
Roni Bar-On is considered to be a very close ally of Olmert's, and political sources report that he expects to receive the nomination, as someone who had to bite the bullet for Olmert in the past. Olmert has previously appointed other candidates to desirable positions in Bar-On's stead.
Another expectant candidate is Meir Sheetrit, who reportedly regards the treasury as a means by which Olmert could compensate him for not extending Sheetrit's tenure as acting justice minister late last year. Sheetrit replaced Ramon, who resigned following his indictment.
Senior Kadima officials implied that one reason for Olmert's decision to postpone the nomination was his need for unity within the ranks of his party, Kadima, in advance of the release of the Winograd Committee's report on the government's performance in the Second Lebanon War.