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Last update - 04:26 17/08/2008
Mofaz: Livni is inexperienced, Barak failed as a leader
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Mofaz, Kadima, Barak, Livni

Transportation Minister and Kadima Party chairmanship candidate Shaul Mofaz on Saturday criticized Foreign Minister and Kadima leadership frontrunner Tzipi Livni and Labor Party Chairman Defense Minister Ehud Barak, saying they were both right in pointing out each other's shortcomings.

Four weeks ahead of the scheduled Kadima primary, in which the party leader will be chosen to succeed Ehud Olmert as prime minister, Mofaz said "I hear the exchange between my colleagues and I want to tell you ? they're both right."

Speaking at a Kadima activists' conference in the northern Druze village of Daliat al-Carmel, Mofaz went on to say "Livni is right ? Barak failed as prime minister and more recently as [Labor] party leader. Barak was also right; he knows that someone without the proper comprehension and experience in defense cannot be prime minister. We have experimented enough in this field ? we paid a heavy price and we can't afford the luxury of trying more experiments. There is no room for trainees."
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"In a sea of security and social challenges that face us, there is no room for trainees, we need experience. Israel's security is no small matter, it is a serious issue that requires serious people and serious decisions," Mofaz continued.

Mofaz remarks referred to the ongoing mutual criticism between Barak and Livni, sparked by an interview on Army Radio last Wednesday, in which Barak said Livni was unfit to make decisions regarding Israel's security and that the pride she takes in her contribution toward the passing of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 - which brought the Second Lebanon War to an end and has been stridently criticized in Israel - casts serious doubt on her judgment.

Kadima MKs responded to Barak's remarks by calling him hysterical and exhausted and describing his Labor Party as nearly bankrupt.

Related articles:
  • Kadima MKs hit back at Barak, say he's hysterical, exhausted
  • Barak questions if Livni would be 'wise' choice for premiership
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