JERUSALEM, 30 March 2006 — Few Israelis imagined a year ago that Ehud Olmert would become their country’s next prime minister. The former mayor of Jerusalem had a reputation as a cold, sometimes arrogant politician who was also burdened by accusations of corruption.
But Tuesday Olmert led the new centrist party Kadima to victory in parliamentary elections, gaining an endorsement for his plan to give up some Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and to define Israel’s permanent borders — with or without negotiations with the Palestinians. Though Kadima won fewer seats than forecast, Olmert won the right to form the next government and sit in the prime minister’s chair.
Since becoming acting prime minister after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s severe stroke on Jan. 4, Olmert has sought to prove to the country that he is Sharon’s rightful heir.
He showed that he could be firm and uncompromising both with Palestinian militants and Jewish settlers: He dismantled illegal buildings in a West Bank settlement, sending in bulldozers and police on horseback to subdue angry settlers. He ordered the army to raid a Palestinian jail in Jericho to arrest militants accused of the 2001 assassination of a Cabinet minister.
Most important, he gave Israeli voters something they had not previously heard from any politician: He outlined, in detail, a plan to evacuate settlements from the West Bank and secure Israel’s hold on the largest settlements there, and promised to complete that work by 2010.
Still, not even Olmert’s supporters claimed he connected on a warm, personal level with the public. He lacked the common touch that endeared Sharon to so many voters despite a divisive career as a hard-charging general and as minister of defense, as one of the targets of corruption investigations that have grown to include his sons.
Thin, tall and balding, Olmert looks more suited to the role of a Fortune 500 businessman, puffing on fine cigars and appearing often in finely tailored suits. Although he says his favorite pastime is to sit in the stands in Jerusalem’s soccer stadium, cheering the Beitar Jerusalem team, he doesn’t generate warmth among ordinary Israelis.
A poll conducted last week by the Ma’ariv newspaper found voters troubled by him, with 35 percent saying they believed he is beholden to wealthy people, 18 percent saying he is corrupt and 15 percent that he is arrogant.
Asked what they liked about Olmert, the most popular response was that they did not like or appreciate anything about him.
But such views never seemed to discourage Olmert from seeking high office.
Born in 1945 in Binyamina, in northern Israel, Olmert is the son of Jewish underground fighters who struggled for acceptance by Israel’s mainstream. His father Mordechai Olmert, from Russia, and his mother, Bella, from Ukraine, were members of the underground army led by Menachem Begin, the Igrun. His father would later become a member of Israel’s Parliament.
In 1973, at age 28, Olmert was elected to Parliament, making him its youngest member. He became a corruption fighter, exposing bet fixing in professional soccer and investigating organized crime.
Olmert has weathered allegations of bribery and an election campaign scandal; he has not been convicted of any crime.
He was appointed a Cabinet minister in 1988 and in 1993 was elected mayor of Jerusalem, defeating the long-time incumbent, Teddy Kollek. He approved opening an archaeological tunnel near the Temple Mount — where the Jewish Temple once stood and now also the site of one of Islam’s holiest shrines — leading to fierce gun battles between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians that killed 80 people. Although there was international condemnation of the tunnel incident, Olmert earned high marks from Israel’s right, including Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He voted against the 1978 Camp David peace deal with Egypt and was a critic of the Oslo Accords, which set up a framework for a future Palestinian state. After a decade as mayor, Olmert accepted Sharon’s call in 2003 to rejoin the Cabinet, this time as minister of trade and industry and deputy prime minister.
Known for hawkish political views, Olmert underwent a metamorphosis, becoming the first political leader to suggest Israel unilaterally withdraw the 9,000 Jewish settlers living among 1.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Many Israelis remain confused by Olmert’s change of view, dismissing it as political opportunism. Others suggest that it may be a
Sharon ordered the Gaza withdrawal last year, creating a deep rift within the Likud. In November, when Sharon abandoned Likud to form Kadima, Olmert followed.
Sharon was always vague about his intentions for his new party. After Sharon’s stroke, it was left to Olmert to begin to define the party’s goals.
