Livni: Olmert must fulfill his promise to quit after primary

Fresh off her primary victory on Thursday, new Kadima chair Tzipi Livni told faction MKs on Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ought to stick to his pledge to resign as soon as the party selected a new leader.

During the faction meeting in Petah Tikva on Friday, Livni also addressed Olmert's recent announcement that he would resign as soon as a new Kadima head is elected, and said "I told him I appreciated the manner in which he has decided to end his term."

"As of now, there is a country to run and we must act quickly. We don't have time to fuss around with politics," she added.

Livni convened the party's first faction meeting since her election in the primary.

Livni announced her intention to try and forge a coalition, but declared "If I don't succeed in forming a government, I will go to general elections and win."

Livni's defeated rival Shaul Mofaz, who on Thursday announced he will be taking a "time out from politics," was conspicuously absent from Friday's meeting.

Livni said she regretted Mofaz's decision to take a break from public life, saying "I was sorry to hear of Mofaz's decision and of the fact that he isn't here today."

"I told him I wish to work with him. Mofaz should keep contributing to the government and to the Knesset," the foreign minister added.

The Kadima chair's entreaties to Mofaz contradict statements made by her subordinate to Army Radio on Friday. Livni aides told Army Radio they were satisfied by Mofaz's possible departure from the political scene.

"It's good for us," the aides told Army Radio. "We are rid of a man who could have built an entire camp against us within Kadima. Now we can concentrate on getting things done. There are no more ethnic issues in Kadima, no more committees."

Mofaz said he has no intention of resigning from Kadima, yet it remains unclear whether he intends to quit his post as transportation minister and member of Knesset. "They stole the elections from us," Mofaz aides told Army Radio. "The Kadima organizational functionaries and the media need to do some soul searching."

During the faction meeting, Livni also addressed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent announcement that he would resign as soon as a new Kadima head is elected, and said "I told him I appreciated the manner in which he has decided to end his term."

"As of now, there is a country to run and we must act quickly. We don't have time to fuss around with politics," she added.

During the meeting, Vice Premier Haim Ramon said Livni should ask Olmert to remain prime minister until she completes the task of forming a coalition. "This is necessary so that we don't lose control over the process," Ramon said.

MK Tzachi Hanegbi, a Livni backer, disagreed with Ramon's suggestion. "We don't need to raise more question marks about the future," he said. "Only the resignation of the prime minister will advance the process and will make clear the options that are available for [coalition] partnership."

Asked about comments made my Labor Party officials claiming the party should head to general elections, Livni said "They ought to welcome the results of the elections and converse with us, rather than make election announcements."

Vilnai: Labor not afraid of electionsThe Labor Party will not hesitate to go to early elections, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said on Friday.

"We are not afraid of elections," Vilnai told a gathering in Eilat on Friday. "The Labor Party is alive, breathing, and kicking, and there is a feeling of renewal and a reemergence on the ground."

Vilnai said it was the Labor Party that forced Kadima to hold a primary so as to replace its chairman, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who will resign due to the burgeoning criminal investigations against him. "Now [Kadima] has to decide what their goal is," Vilnai said.