The chairwoman of Israel’s centrist Kadima political party, Tzipi Livni, has leveled harsh accusations against her arch-rival Shaul Mofaz, saying that he ‘is trying to destroy’ her party.
"Mofaz wants to replace me. It could be legitimate when the time is right, but not when he is still deep inside the primaries, which took place a year ago and results are still being tallied. What he basically wants is a second exam date," Ynet quoted Livni as saying on Monday.
Addressing Mofaz’s demand to hold elections for the party’s leadership as soon as possible, Livni said that this would not be beneficial for anyone, including for him.
"He keeps demanding it here and now," she stated. "He says it’s time for a decision. When I told him, ‘Okay, let the faction decide now,’ he was speechless.
"Mofaz is demanding that I recommend a date for primary elections, but I have no plan to do so, so I decided that the faction make the decision. We had primaries a little over a year ago."
This is while Kadima’s No. 2, Shaul Mofaz, on Monday slammed his party’s leader for "causing damage to Israel, Kadima and the faction members."
Speaking at a special press briefing at the Knesset following a faction meeting, Mofaz said that Israel “is suffering because Kadima is not in the government. Kadima is also suffering, as are the faction members who have no influence. This is not her movement, this is not my movement, and this is not anyone’s movement. The situation in Kadima is that the mechanism is a black box and the party’s code is Draconian.”
"When I see the damage she caused to the State and to Kadima, I can’t sit still. I can’t see her causing damage and sit still," he added.
"If Livni wants credit, I told her, ‘Go ahead, receive the credit from Kadima’s members," said MK Mofaz, who has been trying to promote primary elections in his party in the near future, despite Livni’s objection.
"I am democratically challenging (Livni’s leadership), and I want it to happen within three months. I said that I demand an answer," he concluded.
(Press TV)
