Word: livni
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Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won a narrow victory on Sept. 17 to become leader of the ruling Kadima Party, the first step in her bid to become the next Prime Minister...
...Livni, 50, an earnest, straight-talking former lawyer, defeated her closest rival, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, an ex-general, by a 1.1% margin. Livni won 43.1% of the vote compared with Mofaz's 42%. It was so close that some Mofaz stalwarts are insisting on a recount. Voter turnout in the Kadima primaries was also so low that Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted acidly that 10 times as many Israelis turned out to cast their ballots for the country's version of American Idol as to pick the candidate likely to become the next premier...
...Livni now has 42 days to cobble together a governing coalition. If she fails, Israel is likely to face general elections within three months...
...tour in the Negev desert while his party voted, Olmert told a group of students, "I decided to resign with pain, not with pleasure, I must say, really with pain." He added, less convincingly, "I have no bitterness, no anger." Olmert was hoping that the primaries race between Livni and Mofaz would be forced into a run-off, giving him a few extra weeks at the helm...
Despite her early upbringing, Livni is seen as moderate on several issues, specifically the idea of a Palestinian state, talks for which she has been involved in for almost a year. She has, however, taken a hard line on denying right of return claims by Palestinians who wish to return to previously owned lands in Israel. Livni, who defeated her main opponent, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, will have several weeks to either form a coalition or put together a new alliance from scratch...