Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:23:21 GMT
 Kadima leader Tzipi Livni |
The Kadima leader has challenged opposition candidate Benjamin Netanyahu to a public debate only two weeks before the general elections.
"A debate on the real issues is necessary [since debates] show what kind of a person you are. Not appearing because you do not want to...expose your true face is not acceptable when you have pretensions to be prime minister," Kadima leader and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Army Radio.
Livni who is the Kadima party's candidate for the February 10 general elections made the comments amid speculations that the poll will result in a coalition of former Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud, the far-right Yisrael Beitenu and conservative Jewish religious parties.
Livni who is the Kadima party's candidate for the February 10 general elections made the comments amid speculations that the poll will result in a coalition of former Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud, the far-right Yisrael Beitenu and conservative Jewish religious parties.
"The true choice will be on February 10, between myself and Netanyahu, who was a prime minister (1996-1999), and failed," said Livni. "The public knows him, and time doesn't change personality traits or thinking [patterns]."
Livni had earlier warned that a government led by the right-winger Likud party leader would provoke conflict with the new US administration.
The foreign minister also claimed that she is "the only one who can offer a national unity government that includes Netanyahu and [Labor leader Ehud] Barak on each side, because we are in the center."
A Likud statement however, termed Livni as "a senior partner of the many failures of the outgoing government" who even "failed to form a government when all of the circumstances were on her side."
Livni was tasked to form a new government after being elected Kadima leader last summer but failed to accomplish the task after Shas and Degel Hatorah, which constitutes half of the United Torah Judaism bloc in the Knesset, announced that they would not join a Livni-led coalition.
A 22-day Israeli war against the Gaza Strip -- which failed to achieve the primary goals set against the Hamas government -- has dashed the Kadima's hopes for staying in power.
Many analysts believe that the government started Operation Cast Lead in Gaza to repair its reputation after a humiliating defeat in the 33-day war against Hezbollah.
The Gaza War however brought Tel Aviv another failure after Hamas's popularity soared and the movement announced that it would continue arms transfer into the region.
Livni had earlier warned that a government led by the right-winger Likud party leader would provoke conflict with the new US administration.
The foreign minister also claimed that she is "the only one who can offer a national unity government that includes Netanyahu and [Labor leader Ehud] Barak on each side, because we are in the center."
A Likud statement however, termed Livni as "a senior partner of the many failures of the outgoing government" who even "failed to form a government when all of the circumstances were on her side."
Livni was tasked to form a new government after being elected Kadima leader last summer but failed to accomplish the task after Shas and Degel Hatorah, which constitutes half of the United Torah Judaism bloc in the Knesset, announced that they would not join a Livni-led coalition.
A 22-day Israeli war against the Gaza Strip -- which failed to achieve the primary goals set against the Hamas government -- has dashed the Kadima's hopes for staying in power.
Many analysts believe that the government started Operation Cast Lead in Gaza to repair its reputation after a humiliating defeat in the 33-day war against Hezbollah.
The Gaza War however brought Tel Aviv another failure after Hamas's popularity soared and the movement announced that it would continue arms transfer into the region.
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