Livni rejects aide's remark that 'riffraff back Mofaz'

According to polls, Livni still enjoys a significant advantage over Mofaz in the primary race.

By SHELLY PAZ
livni I lost my keys 224 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
livni I lost my keys 224
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni rejected over the weekend comments attributed to one of her senior aides, that the "riffraff" among Kadima's members were supporting her rival, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, in Wednesday's Kadima leadership primary. "Whoever thinks such things and expresses himself in this way should not be with us," Livni said Friday. The unnamed aide was quoted by Ynet as saying on Thursday night, shortly after a Kadima rally at Kfar Hamaccabiah in Ramat Gan, that he was concerned about the complacency in Livni's camp. "People here act as if they were in Ramat Aviv Gimmel [a wealthy north Tel Aviv neighborhood]. All the riffraff went with Mofaz and a strange, quiet atmosphere took over our camp, as opposed to the hectic buzz in Mofaz's headquarters," the aide reportedly said. The remarks, widely reported Friday, infuriated Mofaz. "The racism coming out of Livni's camp is surprising and it takes us back 30 years," he said. "Calling my supporters riffraff is low and a poor, racist expression that has no place in Israeli society. I am proud of my supporters and I love and treasure them," he said. Livni responded, "I don't know if and who said those things but if they were said, to remove any doubts, I reject them. This is not our way." Livni still enjoys a significant advantage over Mofaz in the primary race, according to a poll published Friday morning in Yediot Aharonot. The survey conducted by the Dahaf Research Institute among 850 Kadima members found Livni in the lead, with 47 percent of the respondents supporting her, while Mofaz had 32%. The two other candidates, Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, received 8% and 6%, respectively. The poll had a margin of error of 4.5 points. A survey in Maariv gave Livni an 18.8% lead over Mofaz, a former military chief of staff and defense minister. The poll surveyed 400 Kadima members and the margin of error was 4.9 points. If no candidate receives 40% on Wednesday, a runoff will be held between the two front-runners next week. Kadima's next leader will try to form a new government. If he or she fails to do so, it is likely that a general election will be called.