Peace talks are Olmert's ticket to political survival

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has again demonstrated his skill in manipulating Israel's dysfunctional electoral system. After surviving the Winograd commission reports on the mistakes made in the 2006 Lebanon war, Olmert faced another wave of calls to resign following testimony related to corruption charges. But through an agreement with Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, a Knesset vote was cancelled that would have led to national elections in the fall and would probably have returned opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu to power. Unless there are new political "earthquakes" (always a possibility in Israel), the current coalition is likely to continue until at least the spring of 2009. As a result, and as part of a survival strategy that includes shifting the focus of media attention, Olmert's "peace offensive" remains very much on... [read full story]