ISRAEL's former defence minister Shaul Mofaz won over 60 per cent of the vote on Wednesday, beating incumbent Tzipi Livni to become head of the opposition Kadima Party, but there are serious doubts about whether he can reverse its dwindling fortunes. The bitterly-fought leadership contest ended Livni's three-and-a-half year reign. But turnout during Tuesday's primary was low, with just 41 per cent of the party's 95,000 registered members voting, and recent polls showed Kadima may lose up to half its 28 seats in the next elections which could take place before the end of this year. So far, there is little to distinguish Kadima from Likud, which was why Livni was pushed aside in favour of the hardline Mofaz. "Netanyahu hoped for Livni's victory," Ben Caspit wrote in Maariv, saying Mofaz had the potential to take seats from Likud and increase the centrist bloc in the Knesset "to the point of a political upheaval". "As of this morning, Iranian-born Mofaz, who currently heads the powerful parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and defence, has to reunite Kadima, make it clear to Livni's MPs that there are no contracts on their heads -- and try to keep Livni herself." Commentators suggested Livni was likely to leave Kadima and might even retire from politics altogether. Livni's defeat is a political low point for the former foreign minister, who was once the most powerful woman in Israel and hoped to become the country's second female premier. She was among the first ministers to leave Likud for Kadima in 2005, when former premier Ariel Sharon formed the party after pulling all settlers and troops out of Gaza. She led the party to victory in the 2009 elections, when Kadima won more seats than any other faction, but was unable to form a coalition and opted to stay in opposition rather than join Netanyahu's government.
