With the elections less than two days away, pollsters are confident that their predictions are accurate - but they say that a low voter turnout could throw everything off. Volunteers in the field, however, say that support for Kadima is much less than popularly felt.
The latest polls show that Kadima is expected to receive approximately 35 seats, with Labor and Likud lagging behind with roughly half that amount for each. It is widely felt that most of the voters who are not planning to exercise their right to vote - currently assumed to be approximately a third of the electorate - belong to the larger parties, and particularly to Kadima.
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Kadima's prime ministerial candidate, called upon the public to go out and vote on Tuesday.
Olmert is faulted by Kadima colleagues for having led to a feeling of apathy among many of the party's supporters with his speech of two weeks ago. He said at the time, "We have already won the election; the question is merely by how much."
Another top Kadima figure, Shinui Party founder Prof. Uriel Reichman - who is slated to be appointed Education Minister if Kadima wins - is accused of having caused a similar haughty impression by meeting recently with the heads of the teachers' unions.
Olmert said this morning he had decided to appoint Foreign Minister Tzippy Livny as his Deputy Prime Minister, if he forms the next government. Olmert himself is now the Acting Prime Minister by virtue of his appointment to the position of Acting PM by now-comatose PM Ariel Sharon. Olmert also praised Shimon Peres very highly, and said he would appoint Peres as his "Associate Prime Minister" - the position Peres held under Sharon.
Likud Party chairman and prime ministerial candidate Binyamin Netanyahu is campaigning in the north today. He said this morning that though he is proud of having effected the economic reforms as Finance Minister, he understands that some people are angry with him for it. "It appears that only I am paying the political price of this plan that saved the economy," Netanyahu said, "even though the entire government supported it. Many ministers [from Kadima] are denying their support and maligning me, while enjoying the fruits of the program."
On the diplomatic front, Ehud Olmert said, "Israel will determine its final borders only after a deep internal debate, and negotiations with the U.S. and the international community... if no [Palestinian] partner is found."
Netanyahu countered, in a separate interview, that Olmert's plan to unilaterally withdraw from much of Judea and Samaria "would bring terrorism closer to central Israel, and the fate of the greater Tel Aviv will be like that of Sderot and Ashkelon which are barraged with Kassam rockets."
Likud MK Uzi Landau said today, "I meet many people who don't feel like voting, but when I remind them that they will thereby increase support for Kadima, they contemplate that and realize they really have no choice."
Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz chose to direct his arrows today at Shimon Peres, who left the Labor Party after decades at or near its helm in order to join Kadima. Peretz said that Peres is doing something unforgivable by serving as a fig leaf for those who incited towards the murder of Yitzchak Rabin. He admitted that it could be that he [Peretz] made a mistake by not welcoming Peres into the ruling circle of Labor, "but that does not justify what he is doing now."
The National Union/National Religious Party (NU/NRP) continues to make efforts, with the help of thousands of volunteers, to convince nationalist-leaning citizens to vote. Yaakov Shternberg, head of the Moving Rightward campaign, said today, "You can't sit at home and say, 'I'm not playing the game.' We're all in this game, like it or not."
United Torah Judaism MK Avraham Ravitz implied on Thursday that his party would not be averse to joining a Kadima-led coalition government. On the other hand, Benny Elon, head of the NU/NRP list, said that he would not join any coalition without the hareidi parties, UTJ and Shas.
The latest polls show that Kadima is expected to receive approximately 35 seats, with Labor and Likud lagging behind with roughly half that amount for each. It is widely felt that most of the voters who are not planning to exercise their right to vote - currently assumed to be approximately a third of the electorate - belong to the larger parties, and particularly to Kadima.
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Kadima's prime ministerial candidate, called upon the public to go out and vote on Tuesday.
Olmert is faulted by Kadima colleagues for having led to a feeling of apathy among many of the party's supporters with his speech of two weeks ago. He said at the time, "We have already won the election; the question is merely by how much."
Another top Kadima figure, Shinui Party founder Prof. Uriel Reichman - who is slated to be appointed Education Minister if Kadima wins - is accused of having caused a similar haughty impression by meeting recently with the heads of the teachers' unions.
Olmert said this morning he had decided to appoint Foreign Minister Tzippy Livny as his Deputy Prime Minister, if he forms the next government. Olmert himself is now the Acting Prime Minister by virtue of his appointment to the position of Acting PM by now-comatose PM Ariel Sharon. Olmert also praised Shimon Peres very highly, and said he would appoint Peres as his "Associate Prime Minister" - the position Peres held under Sharon.
Likud Party chairman and prime ministerial candidate Binyamin Netanyahu is campaigning in the north today. He said this morning that though he is proud of having effected the economic reforms as Finance Minister, he understands that some people are angry with him for it. "It appears that only I am paying the political price of this plan that saved the economy," Netanyahu said, "even though the entire government supported it. Many ministers [from Kadima] are denying their support and maligning me, while enjoying the fruits of the program."
On the diplomatic front, Ehud Olmert said, "Israel will determine its final borders only after a deep internal debate, and negotiations with the U.S. and the international community... if no [Palestinian] partner is found."
Netanyahu countered, in a separate interview, that Olmert's plan to unilaterally withdraw from much of Judea and Samaria "would bring terrorism closer to central Israel, and the fate of the greater Tel Aviv will be like that of Sderot and Ashkelon which are barraged with Kassam rockets."
Likud MK Uzi Landau said today, "I meet many people who don't feel like voting, but when I remind them that they will thereby increase support for Kadima, they contemplate that and realize they really have no choice."
Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz chose to direct his arrows today at Shimon Peres, who left the Labor Party after decades at or near its helm in order to join Kadima. Peretz said that Peres is doing something unforgivable by serving as a fig leaf for those who incited towards the murder of Yitzchak Rabin. He admitted that it could be that he [Peretz] made a mistake by not welcoming Peres into the ruling circle of Labor, "but that does not justify what he is doing now."
The National Union/National Religious Party (NU/NRP) continues to make efforts, with the help of thousands of volunteers, to convince nationalist-leaning citizens to vote. Yaakov Shternberg, head of the Moving Rightward campaign, said today, "You can't sit at home and say, 'I'm not playing the game.' We're all in this game, like it or not."
United Torah Judaism MK Avraham Ravitz implied on Thursday that his party would not be averse to joining a Kadima-led coalition government. On the other hand, Benny Elon, head of the NU/NRP list, said that he would not join any coalition without the hareidi parties, UTJ and Shas.