Livni: I have all the qualifications needed to be prime minister

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni asserted Tuesday that she would beat Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the upcoming Kadima primary should he decide to run.In an interview with Army Radio, Livni said, "If the prime minister decides to run in the Kadima primary, which doesn't seem reasonable to me, I will beat him." The foreign minister also rejected claims of rivalry between herself and the prime minister saying that although she had "nothing personal against Olmert," the process within the Kadima faction was intended to replace him."It's time for the public to regain faith in politics," Livni went on, "I hope peoplehaven't given up yet. I have said this from the outset, and it's Olmert's decision. Thepublic is tired of him."The foreign minister went on to speak of Israel's security situation, emphasizing the importance of planning and solid decision-making. "We are in a place where we recognize threats; we have to deal with them in advance… Security is a lot more than just army and command. Security is making the right decisions." Responding to assessments that she did not have enough experience to fill the post of prime minister, Livni claimed that she had "made decisions under pressure," and that she possessed "all the qualifications to be prime minister.""I am ready to be tested," she continued, "not only on what I say, but also on what I have done."Throughout the Army Radio interview, Livni repeated both her faith in the Kadima faction, and her belief in the tenets of democracy. "I was part of the founding of Kadima; it is a party which needs to lead this country, which reflects views that most of the public supports," she said."I intend to run for leadership of Kadima and to be prime minister. I would prefer a unity government. I believe that the issues I promote are shared between the other parties. We must guard the principles law and democracy; everyone is speaking about these things but not succeeding in advancing them," she added.The foreign minister also spoke of Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu, and the question of when a general election would be held. "Netanyahu and I have worked together, and we can continue to work together. The question is if he will [call for early elections], whether he will want to do it now - that's his prerogative. Everyone will need to ask what the right thing to do now is. If they want to go to elections they will do it, one way or another." Responding to Livni's comments, Likud faction head Gideon Sa'ar said that his party would not join any government with Kadima."The Likud will not join a replacement government put together by Kadima in the current Knesset," Sa'ar told a Tuesday afternoon press conference marking the end of the Knesset's summer session. "We won't be enticed into playing games with Kadima."Sa'ar also intimated that a replacement government would not be agreeable to Likud, saying that "the public needs to choose the next government at the ballot box." He emphasized that a decision should be made by a general election and not "from positions chosen in internal elections."
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