Tzipi Livni "the second most powerful politician in Israel". Livni is the second woman in Israel to hold the post of foreign minister, after Golda Meir. In 2007, she was included in the "Time" 100 Most Influential People in the World. "Forbes" ranked her the 40th most powerful woman in the world in 2006, 39th in 2007, and 52nd in 2008. Livni became the first Israeli cabinet minister to explicitly differentiate Palestinian guerrilla attacks against Israeli military targets from terrorist attacks against civilians. In an interview on the US television news show "Nightline", recorded on 28 March 2006, Livni stated, "Somebody who
Kadima On 30 November 2005, former Prime Minister Shimon Peres left the Labor Party after more than 60 years with the party, and announced he would join Kadima to help Sharon pursue peace with the Palestinians. In the immediate aftermath of Sharon's illnesses, there was speculation that Peres might be chosen to take over as leader of Kadima. One poll suggested the party would win 42 seats in the March 2006 elections with Peres as leader compared to 40 if it were led by Ehud Olmert. Most senior Kadima leaders, however, were former members of Likud and indicated their support for