The entire political arena is in an uproar against former Labor Chairman and Defense Minister Amir Peretz for his sudden abandonment of Labor in favor of Tzipi Livni's new Hatnua party on Thursday. Meretz Chairwoman Zahava Gal-On said: "The public sees what's going on in the political world and is disgusted by the egos, opportunism, zigzags and party-hopping. Meretz is a safe harbour of integrity and commitment to ideology, rather than commitment to 'seat-ology.' The splits, fights and hatred are all part of Labor's DNA. Fortunately, there is still a stable and trustworthy Left Meretz." Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid said: "Livni is leading the most stinking maneuver of all time old school politics in all of its misgivings. Hatnua has become a city of refuge for losers who have left their parties of origin. This is political opportunism at its worst and it will not survive even one day after the elections. Livni and her friends have nothing in common except for their insatiable desire for Knesset seats." Members of Likud echoed the condemnation of Peretz' move and said in a statement: "As opposed to our nationalist and unified Right, which works to maintain Israel's vital interests and the security of its citizens, we are witness to yet another cynical and embarrassing split of the Left, which was already divided before this move. We see parties that are willing to endanger Israel's national interests for the sake of seats in the Knesset." Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said: "I hope the public comprehends prior to the elections the humiliating state of politics in the country over the past few weeks. There has been no loyalty, independent thought, standing up for one's principles or shame. There is, on the other hand, lots of opportunism, ego, private interests and hypocrisy. I hope the pubic will make the right choice and will not wake up one morning to discover that their votes have ended up somewhere else." MK Ofir Akunis, head of the Likud's media response team, said: "The crazy moves on the Left are breaking new records each day. Values and ideologies have become nothing but empty shells among parties on the Left. The 'seat-ology' and 'Kalantarism' [a reference to Rahamim Kalantar who jumped from one Jerusalem municipality faction to another in the 1950s] of old have been rejuvenated and the only criteria governing all the divisions and unifications are egoistic conflicts and spots on a ticket." Meanwhile, 34 parties registered for the election in January as the Central Elections Committee ended the registration process for the 19th Knesset on Thursday. Ten parties are veterans of the political scene and 24 are new. Some parties that ran in previous elections but did not pass the threshold of votes necessary to enter the Knesset submitted their lists once again hoping they would make it into the Knesset this time around.
