An election for the leadership of Kadima was held on 17 September 2008 as a concession to Kadima's coalition partner,

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, which had threatened to bring down the government if Prime Minister

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...

didn't stand aside following police investigations into alleged corruption during his terms as minister and as mayor of Jerusalem. As Kadima remained the largest party in the Knesset and the coalition,

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Tzipi Livni, the designated new leader after balloting, had the chance to form a government without a need for elections. The election was the party's first official leadership election. Previously, in 2006, there had been a leadership vote, but it was for ''interim'' leader.

Candidates

* Tzipi Livni,

foreign minister of israel The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...

* Avi Dichter, Internal Security Minister * Shaul Mofaz, Transport Minister *

Meir Sheetrit Meir Sheetrit ( he, מאיר שטרית, born 10 October 1948) is an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset in two spells for Likud between 1981 and 1988, and again from 1992 until 2005, when he joined Kadima. He remained a Kne ...

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Campaign

On 28 July 2008 Livni announced that she would challenge Prime Minister Olmert for party leadership. Olmert was being politically dragged down by

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

investigations. Livni argued that the party had been misled under Olmert's leadership On 30 July Olmert announced that he had against seeking reelection as party leader and prime minister. The two front-runners throughout the campaign consistently remained Mofaz and Livni, with Livni always holding a consistent lead in the polls. While both frontrunners supported a two-state solution, Mofaz attacked Livni for wanting to divide Jerusalem in a final peace deal with the

Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

, and claimed that his military experience would make him a more qualified Prime Minister. Livni and her supporters claimed that a vote for Mofaz is the same as a vote for the Likud due to Mofaz's hawkish and more right-wing positions. Livni also enjoyed a "clean" reputation, being seen as having honesty and integrity, and being free from corruption allegations. Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remained neutral in the primary, but was alleged to privately favor Mofaz.

Results

Exit polls released after the poll indicated a double-digit victory for Livni. The actual vote count turned out much closer, amid very low turnout, with Shaul Mofaz coming within a few hundred votes of winning an unexpected victory over Livni. Supporters of Mofaz called for a recount but Mofaz rejected any legal challenge of the declared result and called Livni to congratulate her on her victory, as did Sheetrit and Dichter.

Aftermath

After Mofaz's loss, he announced that he would be taking a break from politics and leaving the government and Knesset. However, he would remain a member of Kadima. Soon after, however, he announced his return and won the 2nd place in Kadima's Knesset list for the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...

. In a rematch in 2012, he won the leadership, and in the 2013 election led the party to a stunning collapse, winning 2 seats. After her election, Livni failed to form a governing coalition, having failed to reach an agreement with Shas. Subsequently Knesset elections were held on 10 February 2009.

References

{{reflist

External links

Kadima Leadership Elections: background, results, and the prospects for peace
Institute for Middle East Understanding Kadima leadership September 2008 events in Asia

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...