ISRAEL:New bribery claims have cast doubt on the Israeli PM's ability to govern, writes Peter Hirschbergin Jerusalem
A DAY after Ehud Olmert told the Israeli public he had not taken bribes from a US businessman, questions were being asked over the ability of the prime minister, whose two years in office have been beset by allegations of corruption, to govern effectively.
Under fire over fresh corruption charges, Olmert told Israelis late Thursday night that he would stand down if indicted, but he insisted that while he had taken money from Morris Talansky, a US businessman and fund-raiser, it had been for legitimate electoral purposes and not for personal gain.
In a televised address late on Thursday night, just minutes after a week-old court-imposed gag order on the details of the case was partially lifted, Olmert denied he had taken bribes. "I look in the eye of each and every one of you and say: 'I never took a bribe. I never took a penny into my pocket,'" he said.
If the attorney general decided to indict him, the prime minister added, "I will resign from my post. I hope and believe we will not reach this stage, but if, God forbid, that is what's decided, I will not require goading or preaching from anyone."
Police, who yesterday indicated that their investigation could still take months, are probing allegations that Olmert illicitly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Talansky (75), when he ran in two successful mayoral campaigns in Jerusalem in the 1990s and when he competed in the primaries for the centre-right Likud party in 2002. Investigators want Olmert to account for the money, much of which was in cash. Olmert said he first met Talansky 15 years ago.
It is still unclear what Olmert did - if anything - in exchange for the funds he received. He has said that the money went to covering election campaign debts.
But Olmert's situation has been complicated by the fact that a former business partner and long-time confidante, Uri Messer, is said to be co-operating with police and has reportedly implicated Olmert in the case.
In his brief address on Thursday night, the Israeli leader tried to shift the blame to Messer, saying he had handled the funds raised by Talansky.
He had "no doubt", the prime minister said, that Messer had administered the funds "according to the letter of the law".
The prime minister has had some success in recent months in rehabilitating his image, which had been sullied by his handling of the Lebanon war in mid-2006 and a series of corruption affairs in which he has been implicated but never charged.
But the latest allegations, piled on top of all the other cases, have again cast doubt on Olmert's ability to govern effectively.
With his credibility undermined, it is unlikely he would be able to garner broad public support for major diplomatic moves, such as an agreement with the Palestinians or the Syrians.
Writing in the daily Yediot Ahronoth, veteran political commentator Nahum Barnea asked how president George Bush, who will be in Israel next week to mark the country's 60th anniversary, will relate to Olmert.
"Bush will warmly embrace Olmert," he wrote, "but his eyes will betray deep wonderment: Is this man still capable of doing business with me?"
Opposition parliamentarians predictably called on the prime minister to resign. But for now, Mr Olmert appears safe.
His main coalition partner, the Labour Party, has already intimated it will only leave the government if the prime minister is indicted. Members of his ruling Kadima party have also adopted a wait-and-see approach.
But the waiting period will not go on forever and if Mr Olmert is not able to credibly parry the charges, even members of his own party will begin treating him as an electoral liability.
Palestinian officials have also expressed concern that if Olmert is forced to resign and early elections are held, the end-of-year deadline set by Bush for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal will become irrelevant.