Kadima head Tzipi Livni spoke at a party conference on Thursday and promised not to “sell the country” to hareidi-religious parties such as Shas and United Torah Judaism. “Kadima will assert Israel's Jewish identity without selling the state to the hareidim along the way,” she said. She criticized Shas in particular, telling those present that she could have created a coalition with the help of Shas, but “I refuse to pawn Israel's future for the prime minister's chair.”

Livni also slammed Likud, saying the party “only knows how to say 'no'” and does not advance new ideas. Meanwhile, Likud leaders criticized Kadima, saying the party's decision to award Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz the number two slot on the party list showed that Kadima had not changed.