In the battle for Kadima, Mofaz to target Livni

Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz is pushing for Kadima to hold a primary when the time comes, as he jockeys for position in the party against Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni during Ehud Olmert's legal troubles. "We have over 60,000 members who are expecting to take part in the democratic process," Mofaz said recently at a rally.

Mofaz and Livni's struggle has heated up since Prime Minister Olmert announced that if indicted in the latest corruption investigation, he would resign. Mofaz is careful to speak up for Olmert at rallies, differentiating himself from Livni, whose silence is perceived as undermining the premier.

Mofaz wants to prevent Livni from taking the choice of Olmert's successor to Kadima's Knesset faction or the Kadima party council, and so a primary, which is stipulated in the party's charter, is important to him.

Olmert's associates in Kadima vehemently deny that if Olmert declares himself incapacitated it would pave the way for Livni to head the party and take the premiership. "Olmert despises Livni so much and is so angry at her that if he has to take action, he will see to it that Livni won't enjoy the situation," a source said.

Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit is also preparing to run in the Kadima primary and he, like Livni and Mofaz, has started a quiet campaign. Livni is leading in the opinion polls, and Mofaz sees her as his main challenge for the party leadership.

Mofaz will be holding two rallies this week, in Haifa and Petah Tikva. Some MKs and Kadima ministers said they had been approached to have meetings with Mofaz, where they would be called on for support.

Mofaz reportedly believes he can beat Livni in the primary, despite her head start in the polls, because his supporters have been running a major membership drive for the party over the past two weeks.

Mofaz also believes that most of the mayors who support Olmert will transfer their support to Mofaz if Olmert has to resign. Over the past two years, Mofaz has met with more than 150 mayors and maintains close contact with them.

Mofaz is being careful not to attack Livni publicly, although his opinion of her is known to be low.

His aides say his campaign against Livni will be based on presenting himself as a center-right candidate, while painting Livni as the party's far left. The real threat is Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, and only Mofaz can give him a fight, his supporters in the party say.

"Tzipi Livni is leading in the polls because she isn't saying anything," a Mofaz supporter said. "There is a gap between what the public thinks of her and what we in Kadima think. When she starts talking she will strike out."

Mofaz supporters also say that when they ask themselves who they would like to see leading the country in the next war, the answer is clear - Mofaz.

Supporters also say Mofaz would be able to establish a government with Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu, avoiding early elections, and Livni cannot.