Kadima probe could keep PM in power
Jul. 2, 2008 Gil Hoffman , THE JERUSALEM POST
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A decision by the National Fraud Unit to investigate alleged improprieties
in the current Kadima membership drive could end up delaying the party's
primary that was expected to take place in early September, Kadima officials
said Tuesday.

Lt.-Cmdr. Shlomi Ayalon, who heads the unit, wrote the Movement for Quality
Government on Monday that he would examine the possibility of opening an
investigation. But a decision on whether to open a formal probe is not
expected until after Kadima sets a date for its primary in its July 10
council meeting.

Kadima's comptroller will also conduct a thorough investigation, which will
include calls to thousands of Kadima members to make sure that they joined
the party knowingly and willingly and paid their membership fee themselves.

The Movement for Quality Government asked Ayalon to prevent Kadima from
making use of its membership rolls, even if it would mean delaying the
primary and allowing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to remain Kadima head and
prime minister.

Past investigations into primaries in Labor resulted in delays of the votes.
Labor officials were divided on Tuesday about whether they would allow a
probe into Kadima's membership drive to delay replacing Olmert.

Some Labor officials said they would love to see Kadima embroiled in a
police probe and would wait patiently for Kadima's primary in such a
scenario. Other said Kadima must stick to the letter of the deal it reached
with Labor last Wednesday that required Kadima to hold its primary by
September 25.

Ironically, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who wants the Kadima primary held
as soon as possible, may have unwittingly delayed it when she demanded in
Monday's Kadima faction meeting that the membership drive be investigated.

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, who is Livni's main competition in the
race, rejected Livni's attempts to tie him personally to the alleged
wrongdoing.

"The attacks are intended to weaken him and delegitimize the people he
registered," a source close to Mofaz said. "It's baseless nonsense. She just
said it to try to strengthen her super-clean image."