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Olmert's departure / A prime minister without a legacy
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel News, Ehud Olmert 

The smell of stale cigar smoke surrounded the old office of Ehud Olmert in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. It was from here that he managed affairs of state as acting prime minister after succeeding Ariel Sharon.

Visitors asked office manager Shula Zaken about the effects of the switch in the boss's job.

This was the same time there were media reports about targeted assassinations in the Gaza Strip. Army people come here all the time, Zaken said, clearly excited. "Did you hear about the liquidations? The liquidator sits here!," she said, pointing to Olmert's closed office door.
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Olmert's 39 months as prime minister were characterized above all by military crises and decisions to use force, not all of which were revealed to the public. Those that are known the Second Lebanon War, Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, the strike on the suspected nuclear reactor in Syria, the Israel Air Force strikes in Sudan (according to foreign sources), the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh (again, according to foreign reports) and covert operations to block Iran's nuclear program  point to Olmert's willingness to take far-reaching risks and to approve daring operations by the defense and intelligence establishments.

"As I conclude my tenure, it is clear to me that the most important trait needed by a prime minister, any prime minister, is the ability to make a decision," Olmert said in his final speech to the Knesset on Monday. "A prime minister of the State of Israel needs something else - the courage to make difficult decisions."

There is no doubting that Olmert did and does have courage. But that is not enough. His premiership ends as a major missed opportunity: His peace initiatives ran aground, Israel has no border with the Palestinians, the demographic problem is as troublesome as ever and Iran continues to move its nuclear program forward. Olmert's aims  from evacuating most of the settlements in the West Bank and changing the rules of the game in prisoner exchanges to making Israel "a state that's fun to live in"  were not achieved. And Gilad Shalit is still captive.

Olmert failed, ironically, in what was thought to be his strongest suit, working with people. To wit, his pitiful decision to make Amir Peretz defense minister in order to give the finance portfolio to Olmert's buddy Abraham Hirchson. Even worse was his working relationship with Ehud Barak, Peretz's successor who became Olmert's arch enemy until he brought down his government. Had Olmert kept Shaul Mofaz at defense he would have saved himself the double mess of Peretz and Barak.

In his final days as prime minister, Olmert once more showed both his faces, that of the visionary statesman and that of the contentious wheeler-dealer, in his impressive speech about peace and history in the Knesset on Monday, and in his decision to veto Barak's trip to Paris. That's Olmert all over: He always has to have the last word.

But the main lesson of Olmert's tenure is that the common Hebrew expression, "You see things from here that you don't see from there," pertain not only to rightist leaders who withdrew from territory but also to a leader from the left who sought to change reality and discovered that it was stronger than he. Both of his wars, in Lebanon and in Gaza, ended with a return to the pre-war situation along the borders. Olmert's peace proposals met recalcitrant Palestinians and Syrians, just like Barak's eight years before. In his farewell speech on Monday Olmert compared himself with Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon. But unlike them, he will leave office without leaving behind a true legacy.

Except for the police investigations, perhaps, which will continue to busy him and the media even after he steps down.

Related articles:
  • Olmert's toxic legacy
  • The Olmert myth and Barak's problem
  • Olmert's last (failed) stand
  • Mr. Almost
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      1.   Enough with the demographic bleat 10:07  |  Marilyn 31/03/09
      2.   "Olmert`s 39 months of prime minster .. 10:21  |  Akram Zekaria 31/03/09
      3.   Wrong! Olmer`s has a legcay of war crimes 11:48  |  Zed 31/03/09
      4.   Olmerts legacy Israel deterrence restored to Arab world!! 12:03  |  arthur 31/03/09
      5.   Actually There is A Legacy 12:08  |  Persian Kitty 31/03/09
      6.   I think you`ll miss this guy more than you know 13:12  |  Welshman 31/03/09
      7.   He does have a legacy 13:41  |  Jackie 31/03/09
      8.   The final hours. 14:15  |  Stephen. 31/03/09
      9.   Shoes too big 14:29  |  BazMann 31/03/09
      10.   He is a Prime Minister who should be in chains 15:35  |  Dutch 31/03/09
      11.   Olmert`s legacy... 15:40  |  bat yam 31/03/09
      12.   Second Lebanon War revisited 16:21  |  Sceptic 31/03/09
      13.   #11 - excellent analysis! 18:17  |  redbourn 31/03/09
      14.   Response to #7 Jackie 19:18  |  Shepherd 31/03/09
      15.   Thank you 20:15  |  Jackie 31/03/09
      16.   No legacy? 21:18  |  Mark Lincoln 31/03/09
      17.   haval 22:09  |  aaron 31/03/09
      18.   arthur: deterrence never worked 22:12  |  Zed 31/03/09
      19.   Tommy 00:40  |  Turku 01/04/09
      20.   A Sham 03:55  |  Jack. D 01/04/09
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