Knesset Speaker: Kadima's candidates not recycled
Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni holds press conference, introduces heads of future election campaign to media
This campaign will be about who leads Israel and how, Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni said Sunday, as she opened the party's first election headquarters' meeting.
The meeting introduced reporters to those tasked with key roles in the campaign: Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and Knesset Member Tzachi Hanegbi were named co-chairmen of the campaign, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter will head all of its PR efforts and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz – along with Livni and Itzik – will be on the campaign's brainstorming team.
The team also includes Vice Premier Haim Ramon, as the campaign manager, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, who will lead the headquarters on Election Day and Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On, who will head the campaign's strategic team.
The campaign's external advisors include Reuven Adler, co-founder and co-owner of Adler, Chomski & Warshavsky advertising agency; strategic consultants Eyal Arad, advisor Lior Horev and political strategist Kalman Gayer.
'We understand our responsibilities'
"There are people in the Likud who have already been there, and were unequivocally turned down. We have new faces, not recycled candidates," Itzik told reporters.
"The question of the next elections is who will be at the helm, who will lead the country. We understand the responsibilities we shoulder," she added.
As for the financial crisis' part in the campaign, Livni promised that Kadima will give Bar-On – who was not present at the meeting – its full support: "Ronnie Bar-On isn’t here right now because he is preoccupied with things that are more important for this country.
"He is preparing a financial plan which will be presented within a few days. The economy is a key part of our agenda, and I will not talk about who is to blame, just about what we have to do. The responsibility is ours and we are all concerned about the pension funds. I will make sure we have a plan in motion this week," said Livni.
"The Treasury was late to realize that a pensions' safety net is needed, but it will have such a plan in place within days," added Ramon. "Bar-On is a fine finance minister, but the debate is legitimate."
As for the latest controversy surrounding the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Livni reiterated her firm stance: "I've proven I can say 'no'. This is not the way we want our country to look. Some values must be included in out educational system, and Jewish tradition is important, but there is more to it than that."
