Kadima their supporters from doing so. Neither Labor nor Meretz, who were initially expected to be Kadima's natural allies, recommended Livni as prime minister to Peres, reportedly due to Livni's courting of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party. Shimon Peres told Ynet in 2006 that "there is no difference" between Kadima and Labor, and suggested that the two groups unite. He added that neither he nor Kadima founder Ariel Sharon liked the economic policy of Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu. The "Haaretz" diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn suggested in November 2009, that Kadima does not have any ideological differences with the Labor Party that
Yoel Hasson 18th Knesset, Hasson was elected 8th place in the Kadima primary list, then led by Tzipi Livni, holding 28 seats and being the largest opposition party to the Likud. He served as chairman of the State Control Committee until 2011. During his lead, the committee dealt with the Carmel fire Disaster, a deadly forest fire in 2010, and initiated a broad investigation on this issue by the State Comptroller. During that year he also founded the parliamentary lobby for the two-state solution. Shortly before the 2013 elections, Hasson and Tzipi Livni left Kadima and established the Hatnuah Party. Towards the