Two polls yesterday showed rightist Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and the centrist Kadima party’s Tzipi Livni running almost neck-and-neck if a national election is held to replace Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Police investigators arrived at Olmert’s residence yesterday to question him again on corruption charges.
Yesterday was the latest round of police questioning on suspicions Olmert improperly accepted funds from a US businessman.
Another case involves alleged violations in funding trips abroad.
The policemen pulled up in a white jeep. They were expected to spend two hours with Olmert.
Beset by the burgeoning allegations and with dismal approval ratings, Olmert announced Wednesday that he will resign once his party picks a new leader in September.
The announcement set the stage for a leadership battle in Olmert’s Kadima Party and possibly for national elections.
All three of Israel’s main newspapers showed Foreign Minister Livni with a solid lead in the race to take over from Olmert in the Sept. 17 Kadima leadership election.
Surveys have consistently shown that Netanyahu’s Likud party would win an early parliamentary election against Kadima, but two of the three opinion polls published yesterday showed a close race if Livni headed Kadima.
Mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth showed that Netanyahu’s Likud would get 30 seats compared to 29 for Livni’s Kadima. Left-leaning Haaretz had Livni netting 26 seats, ahead of Netanyahu’s 25.
Daily Maariv put Netanyahu clearly ahead, showing that if elections were to be held today, Likud would sweep 33 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament with Livni at the head of Kadima taking only 20 seats.
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