Livni in Kadima's room
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Netanyahu, will look for another room
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Kadima's Hasson, refused adamantly
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Kadima, Likud fight over room in Knesset
Ynet learns factions argue over use of parliament building's largest room, traditionally assigned to largest faction. Kadima refuses to allow Likud to use room for meeting, says 'We remind Likud we are the largest faction in the Knesset'. Likud source says, 'Kadima always excelled in petty politics'
Tensions between Kadima and Likud continue to rise, and have even spilled over into battles over who gets to use the biggest conference room in the Knesset.
The Kadima faction on Monday refused to allow the Likud faction to hold a meeting in its conference room, Ynet has learned. Likud was forced to search for another room to hold their meeting of a faction that has grown from 12 members to 27.
Limbo
Attila Somfalvi
Kadima chairwoman insists simple math illustrates party won elections; says mandates represent 'hundreds of thousands of people who voted for what we stand for'; Likud sources say same calculation clearly indicates public favored Right
The Knesset assigns each faction a room to use for its activities and meetings. In the previous term, the largest and widest room was given to Kadima, as it had the largest faction in Knesset.
Likud, on the other hand, had to settler for a relatively small room.
However, with the results of last week's elections, the Likud faction grew significantly to 27 members, which cannot be contained in the narrow room it previously inhabited.
Last week the Likud faction had its first meeting – that was held in Kadima's room, after the faction's heads gave Likud permission to do so.
But the intense rivalry between the two parties that continued to rise over the past few days has taken its toll with the members, and on Monday, Kadima refused to allow Likud to use their room again.
The meeting, which was scheduled for 2:30 pm, was therefore moved to another room. At first the Likud members thought there would be no problem in using the Kadima room, and planned to hold the meeting there.
'Kadima is largest faction in Knesset'
But it turned out that Kadima faction Chairman MK Yoel Hasson adamantly refused to allow the meeting to take place in the scheduled venue, which enraged many Likud members."The dazed right can lead (Likud Chairman) Netanyahu into many rooms, but not the room belonging to the largest faction in Knesset. We do not want to see Netanyahu sitting in the same room that Ariel Sharon used," said a Kadima source.
"We allowed it once, when they asked to use the room last minute. This room belongs to the largest faction in Knesset, and we wish to remind our friends in Likud that Kadima is the largest faction in Knesset.
"The Likud faction will have to find another room. We agreed once amicably – but we have no intention of making their use of the room a permanent thing," the source said.
A Likud sources said in response, "Kadima has always excelled in small and petty politics." The source continued to say that the meeting would be held in an auditorium in the building's new wing.
