Livni. Indifferent in regards to primaries
צילום: ג'ורג' גינסברג
Livni says Mofaz trying to destroy Kadima
Opposition chairwoman slams her party's No. 2 following his repeated demands to move up primary elections
Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni responded Monday to Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz's harsh accusations against her, saying that he "is trying to destroy the party."
According to Livni, "Mofaz wants to replace me. It could be legitimate when the time is right, but less when he is still deep inside the primaries which took place a year ago and is still tallying the results. What he basically wants is a second exam date."
Earlier Monday, Kadima's No. 2 accused Livni, of "causing damage to the State of Israel, Kadima and the faction members."
Speaking at a special press briefing at the Knesset following a faction meeting, Mofaz said that "the State is suffering because Kadima is not in the government. Kadima is also suffering, as are the faction members who have no influence. This is not her movement, this is not my movement, and this is not anyone's movement. The situation in Kadima is that the mechanism is a black box and the party's code is Draconian."
Addressing Mofaz's demand to hold elections for the party's leadership as soon as possible, Livni said that this would not be beneficial for anyone, including for him.
"He keeps demanding it here and now," she stated. "He says it's time for a decision. When I told him, 'Okay, let the faction decide now,' he was speechless."
'I won't make decisions under threats'
Despite the party officials' latest claims, it appears that they still fear a division in Kadima. "I won't make decisions due to threats and because of a gun put to my head, with people saying that if there won't be primaries there will be a division, a split and a conflict," Livni said.
"Mofaz is demanding that I recommend a date for primary elections, but I have no plan to do so, so I decided that the faction make the decision. We had primaries a little over a year ago."
The Kadima chairwoman added, however, that Mofaz's remarks, which she referred to as "threats", were unacceptable. "I am not looking to delay, but we cannot have each person making different threats and expecting us to follow his or her decision."
According to Livni, she cannot predict whether primaries in the near future will generate a result in her favor.
"I don’t know when it will be good for me. There are those who say primaries are good for me know because he (Mofaz) is very weak and this could allegedly serve me, but there are those who say that three months before elections are too late, and there may be something in this claim, so there will be a discussion. In a certain sense I am also indifferent, because in the State of Israel you cannot know what will happen in half a year, a year or two years from now," the opposition leader concluded.
