How much of a criminal is Prime Minister Ehud Olmert?
For the time being, at least, he is not a criminal at all. The recommendations of the police to charge him with accepting bribes, breach of trust, and fraud do not determine anything by themselves. It is the attorney general who will decide about an indictment. In light of previous cases, it may take several months for this decision. By then, Olmert may not be prime minister. He is not a candidate in the party primary of Kadima, scheduled for next week. If the new party head manages to create a government coalition that wins endorsement of a Knesset majority, she or he will be the new prime minister. That, too, may not happen quickly. We may be heading for a national election, perhaps six or more months away.
That having been said, it is appropriate to weigh the charges against the prime minister, and what we know about the evidence collected by the police.
Even accepting the charges as described, they are not of great weight when judged by international comparison. They are far from what is said about the new president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. He is called "Mr. ten percent" for the payments he is said to have collected from large contracts when he was the husband of the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Prince Berhard of the Netherlands provides a recent European example of much greater corruption than charged about Olmert. Most notable, but not alone, was a million dollar payment from Lockheed to smooth the purchase of the company's military hardware.
What we know about Olmert's actions include some letters he wrote endorsing the business of American fund raiser Morris Talansky. They are said to be a payoff for what may have been $150,000 given to Olmert over the course of 15 years. The money came in cash, carried by Talansky from American donors or from his own funds. Olmert may have garnered another $100,000 by multiple billing of government departments and other organizations for his expenses on overseas trips. He is said to have made improper appointments and awards when serving as minister in several government departments over a long career, and to have bought and sold homes in "sweetheart deals" that were disguised contributions. The findings of the police include the non-payment of taxes, and money laundering.
All of this may be illegal, but no reckoning reaches the sum achieved by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in one of his deals, and is leagues away from what is attributed to President Zardari of Pakistan.
In the nether-world between the conclusions of the police and the decision of the attorney general, politicians are acting in predictable ways. The sound had barely dimmed on the police press conference when opposition Knesset members were calling for the prime minister's immediate resignation. Within 24 hours his supporters were charging the police with having a political agenda and overreaching their authority. Supporters are predicting that there will be no indictment, or no verdict of guilty. "How can you say that?" is the theme of ongoing charges between the prime minister's opponents and supporters.
The improprieties attributed to Olmert while holding numerous positions over two decades may not in every case have been illegal, or of sufficient severity to bring charges. For those repelled by every violation of law, he has done enough to be forced out of office. For those who adopt George Washington Plunkitt's classic definition of "honest graft," it may be possible to overlook Olmert's actions. ("I seen my opportunities and I took 'em.")
It may take a while for the procedures to reach their conclusion. The judicial process is deliberate in the extreme. There are likely to be several efforts by Olmert's attorneys to delay any reckoning, and to soften the conclusions.
Recent polls show that sizable majorities do not believe the prime minister's claims of innocence, or feel that he should leave office. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that, at the least, he has fallen into the realm of "sleaze," and is a petty criminal. What he has done might not be "terrible" when judged by the actions of other national leaders, but hardly seem admirable, or acceptable in decent company. A country concerned about its reputation deserves better.
Olmert and other ranking officials are involved in negotiations with the Palestinians and Syria. Whatever their outcome, they are likely to provoke intense disputes between those who have already dug in their heels in behalf of accommodation or claims of historic national rights. If there is ever a time that a country needs a leadership untainted by questions of legitimacy, this is it.
Ira Sharkansky (Emeritus)
Department of Political Science
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Home tel: 972-2-532-2725
Cell phone: 054-683-5325
Fax: 972-2-582-9144
msira@mscc.huji.ac.il