Mofaz to Livni: Move up Kadima primary or I'll quit

If Kadima chairwoman and opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni does not advance the date of the party's leadership primary, MK Shaul Mofaz will establish "a separate faction," Mofaz told associates yesterday.

"In that case, responsibility for the split in Kadima will be Livni's," he reportedly added.

Mofaz, who is Kadima's number two, has not rested since about six weeks ago, when it emerged that he had discussed the possibility of a split in the party with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mofaz blamed Livni for the near-split, saying she had failed the test of leadership, and in an angry conversation with her, he demanded that she agree to move up the primary.

The two have not spoken again since then, and Mofaz reportedly believes Livni is ignoring his demand.

Other Kadima lawmakers have backed this demand, including Avi Dichter, who proposed that the primary be held by the end of 2010.

Mofaz is said to believe that Livni is playing for time, so that his demand will lose momentum. However, he has made a strategic decision not to back down.

But according to the party bylaws, only Livni can decide on the date of the primary, and any change in the bylaws also depends on her. That is what is making Mofaz so angry.

Mofaz can almost certainly leave Kadima with at least the six MKs who negotiated with Netanyahu: Othniel Schneller, Ronit Tirosh, Arie Bibi, Eli Aflalo, Shai Hermesh and Yulia Shamalov Berkovich. But he feels he can increase the group, bringing in Dichter, Ze'ev Boim, and Meir Sheetrit as well.

The latter three, however, say they are not interested. "Splitting Kadima is not an option," Dichter said yesterday.

Mofaz believes he can take the party chairmanship from Livni in the primary and lead Kadima into the government. But he is also formulating an alternative plan to establish a separate faction that would join the government under certain conditions.

Yesterday, Mofaz told his people, "if there is no primary, I will be on the side of the majority of Kadima members who do not want to continue the status quo."

"There will be many MKs who will go with me, because they understand that she cannot even maintain the opposition," he added.

In this context, Mofaz mentioned Wednesday's Knesset vote on tax benefits for Jewish communities on the Golan Heights, where Livni found herself, together with only four members of the faction, voting against Mofaz and 10 others.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues to convey messages to Mofaz, though Mofaz has said behind closed doors that he has no intention of taking six MKs and joining Likud.

Livni's associates say she has not ruled out moving up the primary, and would be willing to discuss holding it the year before the next Knesset election.