Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last night addressed the nation, reminded us of all his accomplishments while in office, and announced that he will resign. The police investigation into his alleged financial scandals is in full swing, and this is not good for public morale and is not easy on Olmert, I'm sure. I think he preferred this comparatively dignified way to exit political life; better than going out tarred and feathered.Olmert's planned departure also spares us the national humiliation of a possible situation of having a prime minister indicted while in office.
The rest you can read about in the media or in the many Israeli and Jewish political blogs.
If you should ever want to hear or see the latest Israeli news in your own language, reported from Jerusalem, just go to http://iba.org.il/media/ and click on Foreign Languages.
From what I gathered it's a last minute exit, huh? Wouldn't have taken very much longer and he would have been ousted while in Office.
ReplyDeleteAppropriate title! ;)
Cheers, Klaus
Well Klaus, Olmert is not yet officially charged with any misdoing. The resignation came as a surprise. But wait, it will not be until September, when his Kadima party holds their primaries and chooses a new person to take his place.
ReplyDeletei've decided that there is no politics without scandals - if i were a politician, i would be scandalised too
ReplyDeleteM.Kiwi, my rabbi taught us (in 1962) that the word comes from Greek skandalon, meaning stumbling block. Did I remember right?
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Dina - you've chosen an appropriate metaphor for this concerning Olmert!
ReplyDeleteMsr. la Vache--I thought Louis would like it.
ReplyDeletethanks for the israeli news info tip.
ReplyDeleteHi Dong, Did you try the radio or TV news? What do you think of the style?
ReplyDelete..then some officials 'appear' to be immune to scandal.
ReplyDelete(US Presidency)
I like getting news thorough blogs..thanks..
My first thought when I heard this was "scandal is a disease of politicians," but then I remembered there are plenty of good public servants still working scandal-free, and they don't make the news. Bless them.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. Thanks for the link to your news We prayed about that situation when we were close to where your government mets. Will y'all be having elections to replace him?
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing Olmert is leaving office. He and his administration seem to be hell-bent on giving the country away....
ReplyDelete