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
Eti Livni Eti Livni Eti Livni (, born 1 June 1948) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shinui and the Secular Faction between 2003 and 2006. In the 1999 elections Livni was placed tenth on the Shinui list, but missed out on a seat when they won only six mandates. For the 2003 elections she was placed 12th on the party's list, and entered the Knesset when the party won 15 seats. During her first term, she chaired the Committee on the Status of Women and was a Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. Along