Olmert is the biggest beneficiary of Livni's failure to form a cabinet. The breakdown extended his term by at least three months, giving him more influence over the transition. Olmert will continue to perform the duties of prime minister while relevant departments investigate the corruption allegations. Domestically, he needs to minimize the impact of the global financial crisis. Diplomatically, his greatest legacy will be restarting the Middle East peace process. Before President George W. Bush leaves office, Olmert will visit the United States to extract U.S. promises on the Middle East issue and U.S.-Israeli relations. Olmert called U.S. President-elect Barack Obama soon after the election to congratulate him, saying he hopes the new U.S. government's Middle East policy will guarantee Israeli security and support the ongoing peace process.

In July, Obama made Israel a stop on a world tour promoting his candidacy. In meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, he expressed his support for all direct or indirect negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians as well as between Israel and Syria. He said his government would continue the peace process based on existing negotiations, with the goal of establishing Israel and a Palestinian state as two independent states. But many Israelis doubted Obama's promises, believing the negotiations would not be a priority on his agenda as the U.S. president. Constant conflicts between the Israelis and Palestinians will remain an uncertain influence on the Israeli situation. Israel and Hamas exchanged fire in early November, despite agreeing to a ceasefire in June. Violence will probably continue to flare. That adds uncertainty to the Israeli politics and the peace process in the Middle East.