Olmert says Sharon viewed him as successor

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday in a Channel 1 interview that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told him that he viewed him as his successor. Olmert, who said he was perhaps the person most loyal to Sharon, said that when Sharon urged him to leave the Jerusalem municipality and run again for a Knesset seat, he told him, "Ehud, when the day comes I want you to be able to naturally jump into my position."