A disappointed Mofaz
צילום: AFP
Mofaz staffers shocked by loss
Transportation minister's campaign staff stunned by exit poll results showing big Livni win; 'I'm shocked. This contradicts everything I thought,' one Mofaz staffer says
At the beginning of the week, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz predicted that he will win the Kadima primaries with 43.7% of the votes. However, as it turned out, he was not able to reach that figure during Wednesday's actual primaries.
Mofaz's campaign headquarters was characterized by stunned silence, following exit polls that indicated he had reached a mere 37%, significantly behind Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. "I'm shocked. This contradicts everything I thought," one of Mofaz's staffers said.
Sad moment - Mofaz campaign headquarters (Photo: George Ginsburg)
Despite the confusion and congestion that marked the final hours of the primaries, Mofaz tried to maintain an optimistic front, telling members of his camp to "wait for final results."
However, exit polls from all three Israeli television stations showed Livni beating Mofaz by 10% - approximately 47% to Mofaz's 37%. The two remaining candidates, Meir Sheetrit and Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, each received seven percent of the vote.
Half an hour after TV stations announced exit poll results, Mofaz and his wife left his campaign headquarters in Givatayim and went home. Mofaz told a number of his staffers in a closed meeting that it's possible the polls are inaccurate, "since they were undertaken in the critical last-minute bustle of voting."
MK Ronit Tirosh, a Mofaz supporter, said "it's not the best feeling, but we'll wait for the final results."
"It's a very tough feeling," another staffer concurred. "We thought that the voters were with us. Even though it's impossible to argue with the numbers in the exit polls, there's still some room for hope. Perhaps the real results will show that we were stronger," he said.
A female activist added: "Perhaps there is still some hope. Maybe the actual results will be the opposite and Shaul Mofaz will become the next prime minister. We believe in him."
