Comptroller mulls corruption probe of Kadima primary

Livni attempt to unify party backfires.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
lindenstrauss 224.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
lindenstrauss 224.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Officials in State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss's office will meet with Kadima activists loyal to defeated party leadership contender Shaul Mofaz, to determine whether the comptroller should investigate alleged illegalities in last Wednesday's primary. The activists spoke to attorney Meir Gilboa, who heads the anti-corruption department in Lindenstrauss's office, and asked for time to present their evidence that crimes were committed that allowed Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to be declared the winner in the race. MK Ronit Tirosh, who supported Transportation Minister Mofaz, alleged on Saturday that the primary was riddled with irregularities that bordered on criminal. She said no police complaints were filed because Mofaz had announced he was taking time off from politics shortly after the results were published. Mofaz met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday and told him he was taking a "vacation." The term Mofaz used led to speculation that he might not be quitting the cabinet or the Knesset after all. Livni made an effort to unify the ranks in Kadima behind her by convening the faction on Friday at the party's Petah Tikva headquarters, but the meeting was marred by boycotts and protests by Mofaz's camp. Mofaz, who refused Livni's request to meet with her, did not attend the meeting, which was also boycotted by Mofaz supporter MK Ze'ev Elkin. "This is not the proper time for a victory party or a fake display of unity," Elkin said. "There are many people who feel very uncomfortable with this false presentation of unity. There is no legitimacy to her victory unless the results of the race are properly checked. Until then, she hasn't brought the different kind of politics she promised." Elkin was set to decide Sunday whether to appeal the results of the race to an internal Kadima court or to an external court. A group of Kadima activists loyal to Mofaz met Saturday night to coordinate a possible court petition. Another Mofaz supporter, MK David Tal, blamed the loss of the Iranian-born Mofaz on the prejudices of the Ashkenazi leadership and press. "The press does not want Sephardim to gain an important place in the country's leadership," Tal said. "The press, the Ashkenazi establishment and the whites joined forces to prevent Mofaz from having a chance. If they hadn't done that, the 400 votes [actually 431] she won by could have gone the other way, but they didn't want him to win." Other Mofaz supporters in the faction said it was up to Livni to reach out to him and to them if she wanted to unify the party. Kadima leadership candidates Meir Sheetrit and Avi Dichter and the rest of the party's MKs united behind Livni's leadership and pledged to help her in every way possible. Livni told the faction she was sorry about Mofaz's decisions to quit politics and not attend the meeting. She said she had told him when he called to congratulate her on Thursday morning that she wanted to work with him. "I still think Shaul Mofaz should continue to contribute to the government. I want to work together with him as a senior partner in the work of Kadima and I still hope to tell him this personally," Livni said. "I don't believe in camps, not in politics, not within the people of Israel and not within Kadima," she added. "There will be no camps in Kadima. Yesterday's competition ended yesterday." MK Otniel Schneller, unlike other MKs who had backed Mofaz, pledged his support to Livni. "The decision was made, she was declared the victor and I have to respect it," Schneller said. "I spoke to her last night and I told her we all have to unite behind her." Dan Izenberg contributed to this report.