Ehud Olmert

There seems to be an increasing consensus that Ehud Olmert, Ariel Sharon's deputy, will succeed in keeping the nascent Kadima party together and that he even has a good chance of winning the next elections: polls suggest he would trounce both Likud and Labour. This, at least, is excellent news, as I happen to like Olmert and agree with the direction taken by the Sharon-Olmert duo.
Winds of Change had an excellent roundup yesterday, that perfectly reflects how things looked at that time. However, with the release of two new polls and the expressions of support for Olmert on the part of all the main members Kadima (who are all heavy hitters in the Israeli political world), including that of Shimon Peres, the outlook seems to be much more positive, as Meryl Yourish presciently explains:

Shimon Peres, the former Labor leader who joined Sharon's Kadima party, is giving his support to Ehud Olmert. This is a big one: Polls indicate Peres would pull more votes as head of Kadima than Olmert. But that's not what Kadima wants–a "senior figure" says the party would fall apart if Peres took the reins.

Obviously there are many obstacles, but I think that - politically at least - the picture is significantly more positive than most like-minded pundits had feared. Let's hope things turn out better than expected for Sharon too.