NOT BEING WARM WOULD SEEM TO BE A PLUS IN THIS SITUATION:

Olmert a known quantity in Israel (Ramit Plushnick-Masti, January 7, 2006, ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Mr. Olmert was Mr. Sharon's strongest supporter as the prime minister withdrew Israeli settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip in September. When other members of the hard-line Likud Party turned on Mr. Sharon because of the Gaza pullout, Mr. Olmert became the prime minister's point man.

"Olmert can take credit for having sponsored disengagement before Sharon. He served as his vanguard in putting the plan to the public," said analyst Yossi Alpher. [...]

A recent opinion poll found that Mr. Olmert, as leader of the new Kadima party, could win by a small margin -- but the situation is fluid and analysts said it is difficult to predict what would happen to the movement in Mr. Sharon's absence.

Mr. Olmert "is known to be a very shrewd politician and a very able guy. People always respected his intellect but maybe didn't like his personality," said Menachem Hofnung, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. "He's very outspoken. He's not known to be very warm to people."