Olmert steps out of Sharon's shadow to victory

With giant pictures of Ariel Sharon as a backdrop, Ehud Olmert finally drew the spotlight as the interim Prime Minister celebrated victory in Israel's general election.

"Ehud, King of Israel!" activists chanted at his Kadima party's election headquarters yesterday, echoing a popular chant that had greeted Mr Sharon at the high points of a decades-long political career.

Mr Sharon, Israel's prime minister since 2001, suffered a stroke in January and has been in a coma since.

He founded Kadima in November after bolting the right-wing Likud party in the face of an internal revolt over a Gaza pullout last year that he championed in a sharp reversal of policy.

Mr Olmert, a veteran politician who served in Mr Sharon's shadow as his deputy, followed him to Kadima and took over as the country's interim leader after he fell ill.

Beaming at a sea of supporters, some flying party flags and tossing white balloons, Mr Olmert, 60, thanked his hospitalised mentor.

"At this time I lift up my eyes and heart to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, to the man who started it all, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon," he said to cheers.

Israeli television stations cut away abruptly from live coverage of Labour Party chief Amir Peretz speaking at his group's headquarters to broadcast Mr Olmert's speech from Neve Ilan, near Jerusalem.

"Just before he should have seen his vision come true, his body failed him," Mr Olmert said about Mr Sharon and his plan to "disengage" from conflict with the Palestinians through what the former general had described as "painful concessions."

Mr Olmert pledged in his speech to withdraw from parts of the West Bank, uprooting some settlements while strengthening others, and set a border unilaterally if peacemaking with the Palestinians remains frozen.

Palestinians say such moves would deny them a viable state on territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Mr Olmert arrived at the victory celebration after visiting Jerusalem's Western Wall, Judaism's holiest shrine, where he placed a note of prayer in the cracks of its ancient walls.

Sharon and winners of previous Israeli elections had made the same pilgrimage.

Nearly complete official results showed Kadima with about 29 seats in the 120-member parliament, putting it in position to form a governing coalition with other parties. Pre-election opinion polls had once predicted Kadima would take 44 seats.

"(Sharon) probably would have said, 'We could have done better, but let's get to work,'" said Raanan Gissin, an Olmert aide who served as an adviser to Sharon.

Instant view - Reaction to Israeli election

Roni Bar-On, senior Kadima candidate:
"We are very satisfied with the results. Kadima will run the next government and Ehud Olmert is the elected prime minister of Israel."

Benjamin Netanyahu, Leader of Right-Wing Likud:
"We have no doubt the Likud has suffered a tough blow ... I intend to continue along the path we have only just begun in order to ensure this movement is rehabilitated and takes its rightful place in the nation's leadership."

Avigdor Lieberman, Leader of Right-Wing Yisrael Beitenu Party that made strong showing:
"I promise that in the next elections we will be the governing party. We will work so that Jews from all over the world come and take up residence in the state of Israel."

Palestinian Analyst Hani Habib:
"Just like quitting the Gaza Strip, any new unilateral pullout from the West Bank will be a victory of the (Ariel) Sharon-Olmert plan at the expense of the Palestinians."

Shaul Mofaz, Defence Minister and Kadima Party member:
"In any final outcome, this is a victory for Kadima. Kadima will form the government. The intention is to fulfil all of our commitments to the voters."

Hamas's Palestinian Prime MIinister-Designate Ismail Haniyeh:
"Our interest is that any party which rules in the occupation state should be brave to recognise the rights of our people in establishing their full sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital and to free male and female prisoners in their jails and to recognise the right of return."

"Let's see how things will develop in the future, at the moment, what we see and what is declared is a unilateral separation plan from Olmert. This plan is rejected by the Palestinian people."

Dan Naveh, senior Likud candidate:
"There is no doubt that this is a very difficult evening for Likud. This a crisis unlike any that has ever hit Likud. This requires serious soul-searching."

Dan Yatom, Labour Party official:
"This was a severe defeat for Kadima. This is a big achievement for the Labour party."

"As far as the coalition is concerned, we will wait and see. I am very satisfied with these results."

Cameron Brown, analyst at Israel's Herzliya Centre:
"(Mr Olmert) will deal with it, but it's not great. There will be tension in the party, "look at the lead you ruined". When he took over, he had upwards of 40-plus mandates and now he is looking at 30, that's a pretty significant drop."