以色列总理奥尔默特计划9月辞职

以色列总理奥尔默特表示，他计划9月辞去总理职务。

In a surprise announcement from his residence in Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert says he will step down as Israel's prime minister immediately after his Kadima Party selects a new leader at a party convention on September 17.

奥尔默特在耶路撒冷突然宣布辞去总理职务时表示，他领导的前进党在9月17号的党代会上选出新领导人之后，他将立即辞去以色列总理职务。

Mr. Olmert says he will not run in the Kadima Party primary and he will leave office once a new leader is chosen. He says he hopes a new party leader will be able to put together an effective government once he leaves office.

奥尔默特说，奥尔默特说，他不准备参加前进党主席的预选，一旦新的领导人产生，他就立即辞去公职。奥尔默特表示希望前进党新领导人在他辞去总理之后能立即组建一个有效政府。

Ehud Olmert's decision follows months of mounting political pressure, and an official police inquiry into whether or not he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal payments from a U.S. citizen long involved in political fundraising for Israel's right-wing Likud Party.

奥尔默特作出这一决定之前，他处于持续几个月的巨大政治压力之下，还受到警方的正式调查，以确定他是否从一名美国公民那里接受了数十万美元的非法钱款，这名美国公民长期以来一直跟以色列右翼利库德党的政治募款有关。

The allegations concern Mr. Olmert when he was a member of the Likud Party serving as mayor of Jerusalem, and as a cabinet member in the government of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Mr. Olmert has strenuously denied the allegations and has survived several other probes into his conduct since he became prime minister in 2006.

上述指称涉及奥尔默特作为利库德党成员在担任耶路撒冷市市长期间，以及作为前总理沙龙的内阁成员时期的所作所为。奥尔默特竭力否认对他的这些指控，并且对他从2006年担任以色列总理以来的操行展开的调查也没给他带来致命的打击。

Tamir Sheafer who teaches politics at Jerusalem's Hebrew University says there are at least two reasons behind Mr. Olmert's surprise announcement.

在耶路撒冷希伯来大学教授政治学的塔米尔·谢弗认为，奥尔默特突然宣布辞职的幕后至少有两个原因。谢弗说：

"There are polls that consistently show that even if Mr. Olmert did run he would have no chance to win the Kadima Party primary," said Sheafer. "Another reason is that we know there is a dispute among his legal advisors, with some of them arguing the best strategy for him is to resign to fight the allegations against him."

“民意调查一直显示，即使奥尔默特参加竞选，他也不会赢得前进党的预选。另一原因是，他的法律顾问意见不统一，其中有人申辩，对于奥尔默特来说，最好的策略就是用辞职来回应对他的这些指控。”

The race to succeed Ehud Olmert began even before his made his announcement to step down. Two of his cabinet colleagues, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz have said they will run for the post.

接替奥尔默特党主席职务的角逐甚至在他宣布辞职之前就开始了。奥尔默特内阁中的两位成员，外交部长利夫尼和交通部长莫法兹已经表示将竞选党主席。

Whoever wins the contest will be faced with forming a coalition government. Most analysts say any such government will not last long and new national elections will likely take place early next year.

无论谁当选，都将面临组成一个联合政府。绝大多数分析人士认为，只要是联合政府都不会持久，新的全国选举可能在明年初举行。