Woman could be in position to become Israel's next prime minister

Woman could be in position to become Israel's next prime minister

An Israel author and lecturer says Israel could have its second woman prime minister if Ehud Olmert is compelled to step down in the face of growing criticism of his foreign policy. An Israeli government commission has already released a harsh critique of Olmert's handling of last summer's war in Lebanon. The commission called the his management of the war "a severe failure."

Avi Lipkin predicts that the Winograd Commission is going to come out with another set of condemnations of the prime minister, which could compel Olmert to resign. Lipkin says the Israeli people are no longer supportive of Olmert's foreign policy.

"The people are not in agreement anymore with the present government," he contends; "so what's going to happen, I predict, is that the Winograd Commission is going to come out with another set of condemnations against Olmert." And if that happens, Lipkin believes upwards of 300,000 people will be demonstrating in Tel Aviv -- and Olmert, he says, will have no choice but to resign. Barring a call for new elections, he says, that would pave the way for a successor to be appointed.

"Tzipi Livni [Israel's Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs] is aiming at being Israel's second woman prime minister after Golda Meir," he observes. "And if [Olmert] resigns, theoretically the Kadima Party could install her as prime minister. And so [that party] will continue to rule -- or shall I say, misrule."

Lipkin doubts there would be enough votes in the Knesset to call for another election, should Olmert step down.

"If you work so hard to get elected, and the next election is in 2010, and all of a sudden they're saying to you give up your job and bring the government down, you're going to find a lot of people in the Knesset -- especially on the left and in the Kadima -- who are afraid of losing their jobs," he states. "And so people have their own self-interest first, and that is not to call for new elections."

Lipkin says if new elections were called, the conservative Likud Party would likely win -- and Benjamin Netanyahu would likely become prime minister again.