The announcement by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he plans to run for office in the next elections should be taken seriously. This is an opening strategic move designed to position himself, as early as the next few months, as an alternative leadership candidate before the Israeli public and the world.
The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on April 24 that Olmert had declared his intentions two weeks ago at a closed-door meeting with Jewish businessmen in London and was greeted with thunderous applause.