Mazuz: If PM Doesn’t Recover, Cabinet Must Choose Successor
Excerpts;
“Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is currently defined as temporarily incapacitated, but should this definition change to permanently incapacitated, the cabinet will have to meet immediately to choose an acting premier.”
“Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said this during a special cabinet session called Thursday to discuss the legal implications of Sharon’s condition.”
“Mazuz explained that as long as Sharon is temporarily incapacitated, his appointed deputy, Ehud Olmert, will serve as acting premier. However, should Sharon be declared permanently incapacitated, then by law the cabinet must choose an acting premier from among the ministers who are also MKs and members of Sharon’s party.”
“Mazuz also told the cabinet that there is no legal way to postpone the elections scheduled for March 28. Justice Ministry sources later explained that a law enabling the Knesset to extend its term in an emergency applies only when it would be impossible to hold elections, such as during a war. Sharon’s illness, however, clearly does not preclude elections.”
“If Sharon is declared permanently incapacitated, the Kadima ministers will presumably decide among themselves who should become acting premier and use their cabinet majority to get their choice elected. However, if they cannot agree, the four Likud ministers – who have postponed their planned cabinet resignation in light of Sharon’s illness – could wind up casting the decisive votes. That would create a bizarre situation – the acting premier, who would also presumably be Kadima’s prime ministerial candidate in the elections, would effectively have been chosen by a rival party.”
Peres to Olmert: Would Support Him as Party Leader
Peres to Olmert: I’ll Support You
Excerpts;
“Former Labor Party leader Shimon Peres met with Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem Friday to discuss the future of the government and the Kadima Party.”
“During the meeting Peres told Olmert he would support him as party leader.”