Kadima acting chairman for the March elections. Kadima won 29 seats, and was asked to form a government by president Moshe Katsav. Olmert formed a coalition with Labor, Shas and Gil, the government being sworn in on 4 May. Yisrael Beiteinu joined the coalition in October 2006, but left again in January 2008 in protest at negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Olmert resigned as party leader in 2008, resulting in a leadership election, held on 17 September. The vote was won by Tzipi Livni, who beat Shaul Mofaz, Meir Sheetrit and Avi Dichter. Following her victory, Livni failed to form a
Ayoob Kara was almost ejected from Knesset with Michael Ratzon for "repeated disturbances". When Sharon announced plans to break from Likud, Kara refused to defect to Kadima in 2005 and slammed other MKs that did, including Shaul Mofaz. He praised Likud's "glorious past" and said it will return stronger, despite the split. He lost his seat in the 2006 elections, when Likud were reduced to just 12 seats. Despite being out of office, he remained active in politics. He met with Hebron residents and criticized the demolition of a Jewish home there, bashing Kadima chairman Tzipi Livni as "good for Hamas". Announcing