Honeymoon over for Israel's incoming premier

[Englander]

Jennie Matthew | Jerusalem, Israel

Israel's 12th Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert -- who will on Thursday have his Cabinet approved by MPs -- has courted early disapproval for a weak coalition few believe can redraw the borders of the Jewish state.

A veteran nationalist, who like his coma-stricken predecessor Ariel Sharon, underwent a sea change in his views in late career, Olmert has vowed to guide the nation on the path to peace and renounce the ideology of a Greater Israel.

Yet his lack of charisma, shaky coalition and the rise of Hamas in the Palestinian territories could scupper his masterplan to fix Israel's permanent borders by effectively uprooting 70 000 Jews from the West Bank.

After shooting from loyal aide to acting premier when Sharon suffered a brain haemorrhage on January 4, he led the new centrist Kadima party to a narrow victory in Israel's general election on March 28.

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