Olmert says he will run for prime minister again

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who was forced to resign his position in 2008 over charges of corruption, said he intends to seek the job again in the next election cycle.

Speaking at a closed fundraising event in London about two weeks ago, Olmert said that he was pleased with the success of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party in the recent elections, and that he himself would seek the post of prime minister again, the Haaretz daily reported Thursday.

“The problem with the last elections was that no one ran against Netanyahu for prime minister,” he reportedly said.

Olmert was sentenced in September 2012 to a suspended yearlong jail term and a NIS 75,000 fine (some $19,000), following his landmark conviction for a relatively minor breach of trust charge, but was cleared in the two major cases against him, leaving him technically free to return to political life.

Olmert still is due to give testimony in an ongoing trial in the Holyland corruption case against him.