Text size  January 30 is approaching, nerves are fraying,
suspicions are soaring, and every week brings a new installment
of the battle of spins and leaks between Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. A week ago, Barak was
quoted as saying that if the Winograd Committee's final report
on the Second Lebanon War is severe, he will give Olmert's
Kadima Party six weeks to choose a new leader. The implicit
threat: If Kadima wants to prevent early elections, which will
cost many of its Knesset members their seats, it had better wise
up and replace Olmert.  A few days passed, and Olmert responded:
Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik declared her support for him to the
media, and yesterday, a huge advertisement expressing support
for the premier, signed by hundreds of key Kadima activists,
appeared in the papers. This was Olmert's way of informing Barak
- and incidentally, Kadima prime ministerial hopefuls Tzipi
Livni and Shaul Mofaz - that Kadima is behind him, and there is
no chance of ousting him.  O