Israel's Kadima to choose new leader
Wednesday, 17 Sep 2008 12:52
Foreign minister Tzipi Livni favourite to replace Ehud Olmert
Israel/Palestine In Focus
Israel's ruling party is today voting to elect a replacement for Ehud Olmert, who is standing down amid corruption allegations.
An estimated 74,000 Kadima members will vote on Wednesday, with foreign minister Tzipi Livni the favourite of four ministers to win.
Once a new Kadima leader is chosen, they will need to win support of parliamentary coalition members to form a new government and replace Mr Olmert as prime minister.
Ms Livni – who like the other candidates requires a 40 per cent share of the vote to avoid a runoff – is braced to become Israel's first female prime minister since Golda Meir left office in 1974.
Ms Livni is also only the second woman after Ms Meir to hold a foreign affairs brief in Israel's male-dominated political scene.
If she does emerge victorious in the leadership election she will be tasked with restoring Kadima's reputation in the Knesset and among the Israeli population.
The handling of the 2006 summer conflict with Hizbullah and persistent corruption allegations against senior party figures has seen the popularity of Kadima – created by former PM Ariel Sharon before his January 2006 coma - wane.