Israel poised for first female leader in 34 years

Israeli Foreign Minister and candidate for Kadima party leadership Tzipi Livni,left, is greeted by a supporter after casting her ballot in the Kadima primary in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. TV exit polls say Livni has won a clear victory in the party primary election to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.


JERUSALEM - Israel's foreign minister declared victory Thursday in a tight race to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as the head of the governing party, getting a chance to be the country's first female leader in 34 years.

Tzipi Livni, 50, said she would immediately turn to the task of trying to cobble together a new government.

"The national responsibility (bestowed) by the public brings me to approach this job with great awe," Livni said.

Official results showed Livni winning by a 1.1 percentage point margin in the Kadima Party primary elections — a far narrower victory than the double-digit romp polls had predicted.

Livni, a political moderate, barely edged out hawkish rival Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister, in a contest that could have far-reaching implications for peacemaking with the Palestinians and Syria.

Livni said she would launch coalition talks on Friday, even though President Shimon Peres cannot officially ask her to try to put together a government until Olmert resigns the premiership.

After she is assigned the task, she will have 42 days to form a new ruling coalition.

If she succeeds, she will become Israel's first female prime minister since Golda Meir stepped down in 1974. If she fails, the country will hold elections in early 2009, a year and a half ahead of schedule.

Olmert, who is stepping down to battle multiple corruption allegations, will remain as a caretaker leader until parliament approves a new Cabinet.

Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said the prime minister called Livni to congratulate her on her victory and would notify the Cabinet on Sunday that he would resign. "After that, he will resign," Regev said, without specifying when.

Israeli media reported Thursday that Mofaz called Livni to congratulate her, rejecting a legal adviser's proposal to challenge the results.

Three TV exit polls released just before the voting ended Wednesday night had showed a clear victory for Livni over Mofaz, about 47 percent to 37 percent, leading to premature celebrations.

But official results saw that margin shrink dramatically, to 43.1 percent for Livni and 42 percent for Mofaz — a 431-vote edge. This was not the first time exit polls have badly missed their mark here.

Livni needed 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff next week. Two other candidates lagged far behind in the tally.

A fast-rising star in Israel's political firmament, Livni is Israel's lead negotiator in peace talks with the Palestinians and a rare female power figure in a nation dominated by macho military men and a religious establishment with strict views on the role of women.

A lawyer and former agent in the Mossad spy agency, she is eager to continue the low-decibel diplomatic efforts. She says she hopes diplomatic efforts to halt Iran's nuclear program will prevail, though she says all options are on the table.

With opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline Likud Party polling well, neither Kadima nor its coalition partners appear eager for a new election.

But the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, which could be key to building a new coalition, has already served notice that it would not join a government that is willing to negotiate the fate of disputed Jerusalem with the Palestinians.

As lead peace negotiator, Livni is committed to discussing all the outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians, and the future of Jerusalem is at the heart of the conflict.

Shas' position will require some deft political maneuvering on Livni's part if she is to sidestep elections.

"If it becomes clear that Jerusalem is on the negotiating table ... then we won't be part of the coalition," party spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch said.

Nationally, polls show Livni roughly tied with Netanyahu should elections be held today. A new nationwide vote would likely turn into a referendum on the current effort to forge a historic peace deal with the Palestinians.

Palestinian Information Minister Riad Malki was hopeful that peace talks could succeed under Israel's new leadership.

"We welcome the results of the election, and we are going to deal with any new prime minister in Israel," he told The Associated Press. "We hope this new prime minister will be ready to ... reach a peace deal with the Palestinians that ends the occupation and allows the establishment of an independent Palestinian state living beside Israel."

The primary was Kadima's first since the party was founded by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2005. Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke in early 2006, and Olmert subsequently led the party to victory in elections.

Sharon set up Kadima as a personal bastion after his hard-line colleagues in Likud blasted his unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip in 2005. It was widely predicted Kadima would disintegrate after his exit, but the moderate Livni's victory appeared to give it a chance of survival.

Olmert is under police investigation over his financial dealings. But he has been pursuing peace talks with the Palestinians and has pledged to continue as long as he is in office.

However, both he and his Palestinian counterparts now say they are unlikely to reach the U.S.-set target date of year's end for a final peace deal. Any agreement they might reach would not be implemented until Abbas regains control of the Gaza Strip, overrun by Islamic Hamas militants in June 2007.