Livni wins, calls on Olmert to resign

JERUSALEM, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Tzipi Livni, the new head of Israel's Kadima Party, on Friday urged Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign as he had promised.

"As of now, there is a country to run and we must act quickly," she said during a faction meeting in Jerusalem. "We don't have time to fuss around with politics," Haaretz reported

Livni said her aim was to try to forge a coalition, but if unable to do so, she said, "I will go to general elections and win."

Livni's defeated rival, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, announced he will be taking a "time out from politics."

Boycotts and protests by Mofaz's camp hampered Livni's early efforts at a coalition, Haaretz said.

Olmert, the target of a corruption investigation, announced at a news conference on July 30 that he would resign after the Kadima primaries. Sources close to the prime minister said he would submit his resignation letter to President Shimon Peres on Oct. 2.