Vice Premier Shimon Peres is not ruling out running for president even if the law is not changed and the Knesset continues to vote for the office by secret ballot, sources in Peres' party, Kadima, said Tuesday.

Following the decision by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to indict President Moshe Katsav, Peres' associates are urging him to work toward a majority for a change in the law, on the assumption that he would have a much greater chance of winning with an open ballot.

It does not appear that such a majority currently exists; not all Kadima and Labor lawmakers support Peres, and Shas continues to oppose him despite the tendency of their spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to favor him.

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Shas is the key to the adoption of the new law, dubbed the "Peres law," and it is believed that Peres' people will focus their efforts in that direction, after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised Peres to support the change.

Political strategist Eyal Arad has been lobbying for Peres' cause among the various MKs over the past few weeks, but the 83-year-old politician has himself maintained a low profile as he's waited for Katsav to announce he is stepping down or resigning before acting openly.

If the law is not changed, Kadima is not at all certain to support Peres, out of concern that a loss will mean a blow to the party's prestige.

If Katsav steps down, Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik will take his place, and it is believed Itzik will use her period as a substitute to leverage her own candidacy, in the event that Peres does not run. Itzik is close to Peres and is working to get the change in the law passed, and sources in Kadima say her period as acting president might put her in an uncomfortable position.

The office of president looks better than ever to Kadima right now, with the party seen as crashing, and the individual elected assured a governmental position for seven years.

Three other possible candidates are also waiting in the wings: former Knesset speaker MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud); MK Colette Avital, Labor's official candidate, who is supported by Defense Minister Amir Peretz; and former chief rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau.

Rivlin, who has been garnering support for his candidacy among his fellow lawmakers for months, has a fair chance of winning the race if the vote is open. He is supported by members of the Arab parties, and some members of the Labor and Meretz factions.


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