Mofaz: Kadima to win 4-5 Knesset seats

Party chairman says Kadima will make surprising gains in upcoming elections. 'I haven't given up,' he adds

Attila Somfalvi|Published: 12.27.12 , 14:48

Kadima Chairman Shaul Mofaz has said that polls commissioned by the party envision the faction passing the election threshold and even winning several Knesset seats come January 22.

"Kadima will surprise you in the upcoming elections," Mofaz postulated in an interview at Ynet's studio on Thursday. "We're talking about as many as four or five seats. And when the public is made aware of this, this number will double."

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Despite disappointing projections made by the media, Mofaz insisted that his party has guaranteed spots in the Israeli parliament.

"We are the true centrist party," he said. "The result in the election will allow us to make our mark next term. Our own polls indicate that we have passed the election threshold, and once it is made known others will join us. I truly believe this and this is why I haven't given up."

Mofaz attributes the party's swift decline to internal power struggles and his decision to join the coalition.

"Joining and exiting the coalition was what went wrong," he said. "We haven't met the goals that we aimed for. Maybe it was a naïve approach.

"The rift within Kadima was troublesome as well," he added. "I did all I could to make Tzipi Livni stay with the party after I won the primaries. But ultimately it was up to her, not me. She should have accepted the democratic outcome, and should have joined to help us succeed. It never happened."

Mofaz noted that he looked into the possibility of allowing Livni back into the party, but it didn't work out.

"Once we realized it wouldn't work, everyone went their separate ways," he said. "I'm not sorry that I didn't let her assume the top spot (on the Kadima ticket)."