(hAARETZ).Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to cancel the position of deputy prime minister if he becomes premier after the February 10 elections, Likud MKs said yesterday. They said the Likud leader feared that such an appointment would designate an official number two in the government with too much power.
The deputy prime minister, for example, became acting prime minister when Ariel Sharon had a stroke around three years ago. Olmert took his place, first pending Sharon's recovery and then in the run-up to the elections when Sharon failed to recover from his second stroke.
The position of deputy prime minister was created by Sharon to compensate Olmert.
Olmert proceeded to appoint Tzipi Livni foreign minister and deputy prime minister, which was interpreted by some observers as marking her for succession. Livni's associates later pressed Olmert to announce his incapacitation due to the raft of corruption investigations. Olmert's camp cried foul because such a move would result in Livni becoming prime minister.
Likud sources said the relationship that developed between Livni and Olmert in the current government convinced Netanyahu that he should avoid choosing a senior Likud figure as his successor and granting him executive power.
He was quoted as saying that before Sharon, the position "didn't exist and wasn't missed," and that there is therefore little reason to maintain it
