Last update - 00:00 30/04/2007
Olmert's aides work to deflect blame as release of report nears
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
A few hours before the release of the Winograd report on Monday, associates of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were working to deflect responsibility from the prime minister.
"You can't throw the responsibility on one person and say that he's responsible for everything, when all the cabinet ministers, the entire Kadima party and most of the Knesset supported going to war," an associate said, reflecting the prime minister's main strategy in his effort to survive the partial report on the Second Lebanon War unscathed.
Olmert's bureau was set to decide on Monday how exactly he will respond to the report.
The prime minister and his associates are encouraged by their impression that no one in his Kadima party is planning to rebel against Olmert - at this stage, at least - and they are hoping to present a unified front on Monday.
Nonetheless, there are still hints of a mutiny in Kadima. In private conversations on Sunday, party ministers and MKs discussed what would happen if Olmert had to be replaced. They would prefer to find an alternative candidate to lead the government rather than face new elections. The top politicians involved in such discussions said on Sunday that there were no plans to use the Winograd report as a platform from which to topple Olmert.
"That wouldn't be right," said one. "It would serve the opposition and is liable to get out of control."
About half an hour before the report is released to the public, Olmert is to convene Kadima ministers and tell them the main points of his response to the report, which they will then be able to convey in discussions with the press. The extent of public support that Olmert receives from Kadima ministers and MKs won't be clear until Tuesday, as everyone is waiting to read the report first. Support for Olmert is not expected to be automatic.
Sources close to Olmert said the signs within the party were encouraging so far.
"They understand very well that there is a danger to Kadima," said one. "In addition, all the Kadima ministers and MKs were in favor of the war."
Olmert's advisers, meanwhile, are expected to reach out to the media in a bid to counteract the possible negative effects of the report. They plan to attack all the politicians who have come out against Olmert and note their statements at the time of the war; most expressed support for the prime minister's determination. Olmert's aides on Sunday collected pro-war statements that had been made by dozens of politicians in the opposition.
"Anyone who attacks will get the quotes in return," a member of Olmert's bureau warned. "We have comments from [MKs] Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu], Effi Eitam, Ophir Pines[-Paz], and the public will judge."
Aside from passing on a message of collective responsibility, Olmert's associates will also be saying that Olmert plans to apply the lessons of the war. They will also be talking up the need for governmental stability and noting that Olmert fully intends to continue in his post.
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