Last update - 00:00 22/08/2007
Likudniks work to give Mofaz edge over PM in Kadima poll
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz's allies in his former party Likud are recruiting people to join rival party Kadima to help Mofaz win that party's upcoming primary elections, Likud activists recently told Haaretz.
According to the sources, the Likud activists want to see Mofaz replace Kadima's leader, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
The activists said Mofaz's supporters from Likud aimed to recruit several thousand people to join Kadima. The sources said that among those working to this end were prominent Likud members including several party-center activists. The new registered voters were not Likud members, the sources said.
They said the Likudniks coordinating the effort did not regard their actions as problematic, even though they were adding new voters to the ranks of a rival party.
A prominent Likud activist from the Lod area told Haaretz that he has already made efforts to register several new voters into Kadima. "There is nothing wrong with what we are doing. We have no problems with it and I think it's perfectly legitimate," the source said. "We need Mofaz to lead this country, and we will help him get there even if he is from Kadima."
Mofaz, who left Likud for former prime minister Ariel Sharon's Kadima in December 2005, met with key Likud activists in the Lod area about two weeks ago during an official visit to the city.
The group with whom Mofaz met comprised veteran Likud activists such as Juma'a Izbarga from Lod. The activists had been Mofaz's base of support in Likud and were regarded as loyal supporters. Sources say they are very close to Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and are interested in bringing Mofaz back to the right-wing party.
The activists working for Mofaz believe that they will be able to introduce several thousand new members into Kadima. They said they expected several dozen thousand voters to take part in Kadima's primary election, so their contribution would have a decisive effect on the results.
Mofaz's associates in Kadima said the minister was not behind the initiative. "Mofaz is not considering returning to Likud. These efforts represent nothing more than the hopes of certain Likud members."