Olmert Signals Possible Political Shift to the Right

By TIM BUTCHER, The Daily Telegraph | October 9, 2006

JERUSALEM — Israel's beleaguered leader, Prime Minister Olmert, has confessed to approaching a right-wing secular party as a possible coalition partner.

With his current coalition under threat, Mr. Olmert, who won the general election in March at the head of the centrist Kadima party, has put out feelers to Avigdor Lieberman, who is the leader of Yisrael Beitenu — meaning "Israel Our Home." The move indicates that Israel's dalliance with centrism will end soon.

The two leaders met on Friday to discuss preliminary issues and, while no final agreement has been made, Mr. Lieberman was bullish about the chances of a deal. Mr. Lieberman's party surprised many political pundits when it won 11 seats in March with an uncompromisingly anti-Arab electoral message that included a commitment to redraw Israel's borders to exclude large Arab-Israeli towns.

Any deal with Mr. Lieberman would sound the death knell for Mr. Olmert's plan to withdraw from part of the occupied West Bank.