In the wake of the State Budget's approval Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's close associates are setting their sights on the next target: Facilitating a split within the ranks of their main rival, Kadima.
The PM's associates told Ynet that the so-called "Shaul Mofaz Bill," which would allow 25% of the members of one Knesset faction to split and join another, is meant to prompt a Kadima split.
"Should the Mofaz bill be passed, it will mark a significant strategic victory," a senior official in Netanyahu's office said.
The PM's associates are claiming that at this time already, seven Kadima Knesset members will agree to leave their party and join Netanyahu's coalition, even if Mofaz himself decides to shun the move for the time being.
The prime minister's associates said that in the near future they will be exerting intense pressure in a bid to approve the Mofaz Bill, in an effort to undermine the opposition.
Meanwhile, Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni's close associates slammed Netanyahu's reported intention in a talk with Ynet.
"As Tzipi Livni said, Bibi is the first prime minister in history who attempts, with all his power, to dismantle the opposition," one Livni associate said. "This is only happening because of Kadima's presence in the opposition; an opposition that reminds Bibi and the public every day how things could have been managed around here."
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