Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will hold a special press conference on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Israel time, the Prime Minister's Office announced.But they're not working, now are they? Few are impressed with him, and that's how it's been for some time now. He'll be doing the right thing by resigning, but only time will tell if he actually does, or is just making another attempt to borrow time.
No further details were given as to the nature of the gathering.
Israeli media sources speculated Olmert was planning to announce either that he will not run in the Kadima primary election in September, or that he will step down right away.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is currently in Washington, initially announced that she will be holding an unscheduled press conference two and a half hours after Olmert's, but about an hour before Olmert's was set the begin, she announced she will not be holding it.
Kadima's election committee decided on Tuesday to set an August 24 deadline to join the race, which it scheduled for September 17, giving Olmert less than a month to decide whether to join the leadership race or become "a lame duck."
A source close to Olmert denied a report that he would make a decision over the weekend and announce it next week. But another Olmert associate said the prime minister's attacks against the state prosecution last weekend and Labor chairman Ehud Barak on Monday were part of a last-ditch effort to revitalize himself politically, and if they did not work, he was ready to throw in the towel.
Update: I've gotten to see the speech on television, and he's announced that no, he will not run in the upcoming primary, and will step down when a new leader is chosen.
Of course, as Yogi Berra said, "it ain't over till it's over."
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