Livni poised to get nod to form Israeli government
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http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLM54616120080922
Israeli President Shimon Peres is likely to ask Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to try to form a new coalition government, a Peres spokeswoman said on Monday, a day after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigned.A statement issued by Peres's office said preparations were under way at the president's residence for a ceremony at 7:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) at which he would announce his choice.
"(Peres) is meeting with many factions today, and something might change, so I can't say for sure he will choose Tzipi Livni, but that's how it's looking," Peres spokeswoman Ayelet Frish told Army Radio.
Peres sounded out parliamentary faction leaders on their preferences for prime minister or whether they wanted an early election ahead of a national ballot due in 2010.
The political uncertainty has dimmed even further prospects of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, which the United States had hoped Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas could achieve this year.
Olmert, who could face criminal indictment in corruption probes, submitted his resignation to Peres on Sunday, but will remain in office until a new government is in place.
He was replaced as the head of the ruling Kadima party by Livni, who narrowly won an internal election on Wednesday.
If Peres gives her the nod, she will have 42 days to build a coalition and become Israel's first woman prime minister since Golda Meir in the 1970s. Failure would likely lead to a parliamentary election.
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