OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP)
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday demanded that embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert quit promptly over corruption allegations or face early elections.
"I think the prime minister has to disconnect himself from the day-to-day running of the state," said Barak, who heads the Labor party, a key ally in the government coalition.
"I don't mind if he suspends himself, takes leave or resigns," said Barak, himself a former premier.
"Unless (Olmert's centrist party) Kadima acts and a new government that we support is formed in parliament we will work to decide on a new agreed early date for elections."
Barak made the remarks one day after a wealthy U.S. financier testified before a Jerusalem court that he gave Olmert vast amounts of cash to fund his political ambitions and perhaps his lifestyle.
Olmert has denied allegations of wrongdoing.
He has gained a reputation as the ultimate political survivor for weathering corruption scandals, low popularity ratings and several calls for his resignations since he became prime minister in 2006.
But now that even his coalition partners have taken the gloves off, his political future appears increasingly uncertain.
Should the 17 Labor MPs quit the coalition, the government, which currently has 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset, would lose its parliamentary majority.
The premier also faced pressure from leftist parties even though in the past they have supported governments involved in the peace process.
But the premier's public relations advisor Tal Silberstein told army radio: "The prime minister does not intend to step down." |
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Bribery charges The affair gained momentum after Morris Talansky, a wealthy Jewish-American businessman, testified at a Jerusalem court on Tuesday that he gave Olmert 150,000 dollars.
The 75-year-old financier said in sworn testimony that could later be used at a trial that he handed envelopes stuffed with cash to Olmert and his assistant.
The payments were made over a period of 14 years from the time Olmert ran for mayor of Jerusalem until he became prime minister in 2006.
"I gave some money to Olmert for his (election) campaigns in 1991 and 1992... He told me that he would prefer cash, and I gave him first some money from my private funds, then some money collected in the United States on his behalf," said Talansky.
Olmert has been questioned twice by anti-fraud squad officers investigating the corruption claims.
While he denied the allegations, he said he would quit if indicted.
Olmert who was mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister before becoming premier in 2006, is the subject of three more police inquiries into suspected corruption involving potential conflicts of interest, fraudulent property transactions and abuse of power in connection with political appointments. |
