Livni quits Knesset

A NUMBER of Knesset members from Kadima are considering the possibility of resigning from the party to join a new political movement headed by Tzipi Livni, it’s been claimed.

Livni, who headed Kadima until she lost to Shaul Mofaz in the recent primaries, resigned from the Israeli parliament on Tuesday. “With Mofaz at the helm, it is almost certain we will split from the party,” one of the lawmakers said.

Kadima won 28 seats in the last Knesset elections, but a recent poll showed it is expected to win only 11 in the next general elections, meaning 17 of the party’s members may find themselves out of the next Knesset. A controversial law passed by the Knesset allows for seven MKs from any one faction to break away from their party. “

Knesset members who supported Livni do not feel comfortable with Mofaz and his associates. Most of them know they will not have a spot in the next Knesset, so it is worthwhile for them to join Livni now,” a Kadima member said.

“With her we have no idea what the future holds, but with [Mofaz] we are almost certain to remain without a place in the next Knesset.” According to the MK, if polls show that Livni will win 10 seats in the next elections, “we won’t have a problem organising a splinter group of seven lawmakers. People want to survive. Intense talks have been held since her resignation this morning.”

Another Kadima MK said a number of party members turned to Livni even before she resigned and asked that she form a new political movement.

Livni delivered a prepared statement on Tuesday afternoon announcing her departure from the legislature prior to a meeting with Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin. “I shall continue to work for a different Israel; our children deserve no less,” she told Rivlin. Livni said that although she was leaving the Knesset, she was not going to absent herself from public life.

In a swipe at current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she said in her speech that she was “not sorry for refusing to sell out the government to the Charedi Orthodox in order to form a government”.

As to Livni’s future, it has been reported she will remain a member of Kadima but will not run in the next elections as a candidate. It has also been rumoured that she could join the new party of former journalist Yair Lapid, who registered Yesh Atid (There is a Future) on Sunday.

YNETNEWS.COM & JTA