Livni becomes nemesis of her former party

Former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni's fledgling Knesset candidacy at the helm of a new party suffered an early setback on Wednesday after former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he supported her bitter rival, current Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz, who defeated Livni in the Kadima primaries in March.

On Tuesday, Livni, who resigned from the Knesset after losing to Mofaz, announced her return to national politics as the head of a new party, "Hatnuah" ("The Movement"), saying she would align herself with the center-left bloc in an effort to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the run-up to her decision, she explored the option of running on a joint ticket with Olmert, who was prime minister from Kadima between 2006 and 2009. The former premier had to announce his resignation in late 2008 after it became clear he would be indicted in a corruption case. Livni reportedly offered Olmert the second slot on her list, but that offer was turned down.

On Wednesday, Olmert said he had agreed to sit on Kadima's organizing committee that was tasked with naming the candidates for the party's Knesset list. In the Israeli electoral system, each party presents a list of candidates; the number of seats for each party is determined by the party’s share of the votes in the elections.

Kadima insiders expressed hope on Wednesday that Olmert's return could breathe new life into the party. Polls show that the once-dominant Kadima party, which won the most seats in the past two elections, could disappear altogether after Israelis go to the polls on Jan. 22.

Top Kadima officials were harshly critical of Livni on Wednesday after learning she was trying to convince Kadima MKs to join her new party. Under Israel's campaign finance laws, if Livni manages win over seven Kadima MKs, her new faction will be able to receive 9 million shekels ($2.3 million) from the state coffers to fund its Knesset bid.

"It's strange that Livni, who has tried to brand herself as Mrs. Clean, has been doing all she can to steal MKs from Kadima to get 9 million shekels in public financing; she is unabashed about it," one senior Kadima member said on Wednesday. "This is disgraceful and ugly; such an effort reeks of foul play and its sole purpose is to finance her campaign with funds that had originally been earmarked for Kadima."

The Kadima officials said Livni's operatives were unwilling to promise the would-be defectors a place high up on her Knesset candidate list. So far, six Kadima MKs have pledged their support for Livni: Yoel Hasson, Rachel Adato, Orit Zuaretz, Majallie Whbee, Robert Tiviaev, and Shlomo (Neguse) Molla. MK Doron Avital, who initially indicated he would also defect, eventually decided not to sign the necessary paperwork that would have made the split. His about-face was the result of a conversation with Mofaz, who tried to dissuade him.

Molla, who had already signed the defection letter, said Wednesday, "We could easily find another MK within Kadima."

Merav Parsi-Zadok, a spokeswoman for Hatnuah, said the "public financing Livni would receive is just an advance on the funding her faction would get after the elections, to be determined by the number of seats it won; the current money will not come at the expense of Kadima." Another Livni associate said the "criticism of Livni by some Kadima circles underscores their anxiety in the wake of her decision to run on a new list."

Livni recently asked former GOC Central Command and 2003 Labor leader Amram Mitzna to occupy the No. 2 slot on her list. Mitzna accepted the offer. A similar offer was extended to former MK Isaac Ben-Israel and former Deputy National Security Adviser Brig. Gen. (ret.) Israela Oron.

Livni also met with Shimshon Libman, who ran the public campaign to have captive soldier Gilad Schalit released. Livni asked Libman to oversee her election campaign.

Professor Manuel Trajtenberg, who in the wake of the social justice protests in 2011 was appointed to head a panel that was to offer remedies for the housing shortage and high cost of living, has also been courted by Livni. It appears that he would be unable to join her list because he has yet to resign from his post as the head of the Council for Higher Education's Planning and Budgeting Committee.

Meanwhile, the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy will hold its annual Saban Forum this week, with the opening session on Friday. Among the guest speakers are Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Olmert.

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