Livni urges Olmert to go

2008-11-28 07:37

Jerusalem - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called on acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday to quit his post immediately after authorities announced they will press graft charges against him.

"The prime minister has to take a leave of absence, there's no other choice," Livni said at a meeting of the governing Kadima party in the Tel Aviv satellite town of Petah Tikva.

"Israel cannot tolerate a situation where he is acting as prime minister after a decision to indict him. This is a moral test, this is a question of values and a practical test," she said.

Livni took over as leader of the centrist Kadima party after an internal election in September.

Olmert had announced in July that he was stepping down to fight the corruption allegations against him and would not contest the leadership election.

In September, he tendered his resignation as premier but he remains as head of a caretaker government until after snap parliamentary elections called for February.

Livni failed in her efforts to form a new governing coalition triggering the early polls.

She would immediately take over as caretaker premier if Olmert heeds her calls to quit.

- AFP