Tzipi Livni Kadima the most seats in the Knesset, parties to the right in Israel's political spectrum gained enough seats that a coalition government under Kadima leadership was unlikely. As a result, Israeli president Shimon Peres asked Netanyahu and Likud (which received one fewer seat than Kadima in the elections) to form a government; this was the first time in Israel's history that the party with the most seats was not asked to attempt to form a government. "The New York Times" commended Livni for "refusing the extortionist conditions set by Shas," and endorsed her candidacy for prime minister, saying Israelis would
Tzipi Livni by Livni's decision to leave Likud and also accepted her support for the two-state solution, although it "hurt her." Livni entered politics in 1995 when she tried unsuccessfully to win a place on Likud's list to the Knesset. She was appointed as head of the government-owned corporations authority in Netanyahu's government, and oversaw the privatization of a number of companies. While in this capacity, in 1998 she was considered a prominent candidate to become director general of the Finance Ministry. Livni would later rue the decision to privatize certain companies and natural resources. As Hatnuah chairwoman in 2013, she wrote: