On the peace front, since the latest bribery affair embroiling him went public in May, Olmert has repeatedly stressed his commitment to reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians within 2008, kicked off indirect peace talks with Syria, and hinted at his willingness to open talks with Lebanon.

On the domestic front, the prime minister recently brushed off oppositions from his coalition partners the Labor party and the Shas party, and backed the passage of a controversial 2009 budget plan.

During the cabinet meeting Sunday, he also pushed through a controversial bill to curtail the power of the Supreme Court despite objections from all his four possible successors, and tried to open cabinet discussions on a contentious evacuation-compensation bill for Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

Local daily Yedioth Ahronoth on Sunday posted on its web site a commentary titled "Desperate to make history", which quoted an unnamed minister as saying that Olmert's last-minute efforts to leave his mark in the annals of Israeli history is "pathetic".

"Critical negotiations with Syria two months before he's set to leave the Prime Minister's Office? A shelf agreement, or whatever you want to call it, with the Palestinians at this time? ...What does he plan to do? It's simply sad," the minister was quoted as saying last week.

The article said that almost no government member thinks Olmert can advance diplomatic moves in the brief time he has left in office, and that no minister believes these moves would be backed by the parliament.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz and the other two candidates in the Kadima race all have expressed their displeasure with Olmert's hasty moves, which may leave them with a problematic legacy, according to the article.

Chances to extend overtime?

But a "problematic" situation might be exactly what Olmert wants, the Ha'aretz daily quoted senior Kadima sources as saying.

The sources alleged that Olmert's recent initiatives, including the passage of the 2009 budget and the discussion of the evacuation-compensation bill, were aimed to stir discord in the ruling coalition and undermine his successor's chances of putting together a new government.

A maximum of three rounds of cabinet-making efforts would be allowed after Olmert's resignation, which may take from a few days to three months. Should such efforts fail, then early general elections will be held, possibly in the spring. As long as a new government is not formed, Olmert will remain the caretaker prime minister.

Meanwhile, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Monday that by law, no minister or party may leave a transitional government, which means that even if Olmert is indicted during the care taking period, he would be locked up on his post.

In that scenario, constitutional expert Suzy Navot was quoted as saying that Olmert could declare that he is incapable of governing and suspend himself, and hand over his power to an acting prime minister, a portfolio currently held by Livni.

However, Olmert seemed not that ready to let go, as his associates dashed the hopes held by some Kadima members that Olmert, if indicted, would let the new party chief become prime minister even without forming a government by saying that one resignation was enough to keep his promise, according to the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Olmert's defense team dismissed the police recommendation to indict him as "meaningless", stressing that it could take many months before an indictment, if any, is filed.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2008)