Mofaz to spoil Livni's victory party

Transportation minister tells supporters he intends to complain about primary to Kadima council.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
mofaz kadima 224 88 (photo credit: Noa Landes [file])
mofaz kadima 224 88
(photo credit: Noa Landes [file])
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will convene Kadima's governing council Sunday for the first time since she won the September 17 party primary, for what has been billed as a festive meeting and holiday toast at the party's Petah Tikva headquarters. But Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, who narrowly lost to Livni, told a rally of his supporters in Tirat Hacarmel on Saturday night that he intends to use his speech to the council to complain about the voting irregularities that marred the primary. Mofaz claimed at the rally to have the support of "more than 50 percent" of Kadima's members, despite winning only 42% of the vote in the four-candidate race. While Livni has made a point of emphasizing that there would no longer be camps in Kadima, Mofaz boasted about the political strength of his "centrist" camp inside the party, differentiating it from Livni's supporters further to the Left. "Most of the public is in the center of the map that we represent," Mofaz told the crowd. "I know you expected a different result, but what we achieved was shocking and nearly impossible. We will have a big impact on Kadima's outlook, its character and its future." Livni's associates responded that they "won't stoop to dividing Kadima into camps." Construction and Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim, and MKs Ze'ev Elkin, David Tal and Otniel Schneller attended the rally. Elkin said he would also question the results of the primary at the council meeting and accuse Livni of trying to form a narrow leftist government with Labor, Meretz and the Pensioners Party and without Shas. Livni continued her efforts to reach a deal on a new coalition in a late-night meeting with Labor chairman Ehud Barak at her Tel Aviv home. Livni's associates expressed confidence that if a deal is signed with Labor by Monday, the coalition could be ready by next Monday's deadline without her having to ask President Shimon Peres for a two-week extension, as is permitted by law. But Labor officials said they were still far apart from Kadima on several issues and that Livni will require an extension in any case, because the Knesset would not convene during Succot to approve the new coalition. Legally, however, the Knesset can meet during Hol Hamoed and in fact, the current Knesset was sworn in during Hol Hamoed Pessah, 2006. Prior to the Livni-Barak meeting, Histadrut Labor Federation chief Ofer Eini met on Barak's behalf with former cabinet secretary Yisrael Maimon of Kadima. The two men discussed ways to bridge the gaps between the two parties on economic issues. In a four-hour meeting between the Kadima and Labor negotiating teams in Tel Aviv on Friday, progress was made but no breakthrough reached on issues like defining the partnership between Livni and Barak, whether he will head Israel's negotiating team with Syria and how to limit the reforms of Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann. Sources close to Shas chairman Eli Yishai said he was not disturbed by Livni's decision to reach a deal with Labor first in an effort to lower Shas's asking price. In closed conversations over the weekend, Yishai continued to hint that he was leaning against joining Livni's government. "Unlike Labor, we are not surgically connected to our cabinet seats," a Shas official said. "If Livni gives us what we want, we will be in her government. If not, there will be an election and we will be part of a different government." Kadima's negotiating team met Wednesday with the two Pensioners' Party ministers, Rafi Eitan and Ya'acov Ben-Yizri. Eitan said he wanted the current partnership with Kadima to continue, but that if the coalition agreement with Labor is changed, he would insist on changes in his party's deal as well. Eitan requests included raising old-age subsidies to 19 percent and removing them from Finance Ministry supervision, setting a ceiling for the prices of medicine for chronically ill patients and discounts on medicines for pensioners. "We are here to safeguard the rights of the pensioners," Eitan said. "We won't allow them to be harmed as they were under other governments. "We feel this even more so due to the international economic crisis," he added. "We believe that stability is important but we will stand up for the rights of our voters."