Olmert claims victory in Israeli election

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The leader of the largest party is traditionally asked first to try to form a ruling coalition. Whether Olmert chooses to form a government with dovish parties or more hardline factions could determine his ability to carry out his plan.

Olmert could form a coalition with Labor, the dovish Meretz and the party that advocates pensions for retirees, or he could add the ultra-Orthodox Shas or United Torah Judaism parties to his government.

Olmert, the vice prime minister and former mayor of Jerusalem, took over the party after Sharon suffered a devastating Jan. 4 stroke and immediately became the favorite to win the elections. Much of Kadima’s campaign was built around Sharon, Israel’s most popular politician, and his legacy resonated with many voters.

“It was important for me to vote, to continue the way of Sharon,” said Rina Golan, 65, who voted for Kadima.

But Sharon had been much more circumspect than Olmert about his post-election plans. He never spoke of drawing final borders, and said there would not be an additional unilateral pullout in the West Bank.

Labor: Old party under new management
Labor’s total represented a strong showing by new party leader Peretz, who ran on a social platform advocating a higher minimum wage and guaranteed pensions for the elderly.

“The Labor Party has regained its credibility,” said Labor lawmaker Colette Avital.

Likud, which had dominated Israeli politics for decades, was crushed, appearing to capture less than a third of the 38 seats it won in the last election. Netanyahu, the former prime minister and current party head, warned that further unilateral withdrawals would bring Hamas closer to Israel.

Slide show   Israelis vote Election is seen as a referendum on West Bank future.

“We have no doubt that the Likud suffered a hard blow,” Netanyahu told his party activists. He blamed Sharon, who bolted Likud to form Kadima, for leaving behind “a broken and shattered party.”

A strong majority of voters turned away from Likud and Labor, the only two parties that have ever ruled Israel, to vote for the new Kadima and fringe parties.

Though other attempts to create a strong centrist party in Israel have failed, analysts said Sharon’s personal popularity gave Kadima its edge.

Fringe parties show strength
Two marginal parties posted strong showings in the exit polls.

Israel Beitenu, a party aimed at Israeli immigrants from the former Soviet Union, would like to redraw Israel borders to put fewer Arabs and more Jews inside. It posted a double-digit showing as expected, with partial returns giving it 12 seats. The party has two lawmakers in the outgoing parliament.

The pensioners’ party appeared to be the surprise protest vote of the election, taking seven seats. The party, headed by former Mossad spymaster Rafi Eitan, who oversaw a sensational espionage operation against the U.S. in the 1980s, was not represented in the last parliament. Kadima said the party was a natural coalition partner for Olmert.

The Shas party was projected to get 13 seats.

The record low voter turnout, 63.2 percent, was attributed partly to Kadima’s dominance during the campaign. But the apathy was also a reflection of Israelis’ disillusionment with rampant government corruption and veteran politicians’ switching parties, which many saw as purely opportunistic.

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