The downfall of Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, plunges the country, and the prospects for Middle East peace, into a fresh state of flux. His successor faces the almost impossible task of restoring the government's battered legitimacy and negotiating the difficult road to a peace settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Mr Olmert's resignation became inevitable from the moment he embarked on a disastrous war against Hizbollah in Lebanon in 2006. He emerged from that ill-judged and incompetently prosecuted conflict with his credibility and authority irreparably damaged. It is a political miracle that Mr Olmert, despite his blunders, clung on for another two years. Although he has not been charged with anything, the latest of several corruption probes tarnished him so badly he could not continue in office.