Kadima will collapse with MK Shaul Mofaz at its head, says Kadima leader Tzipi Livni in a wide-ranging interview taking stock of her three years as opposition leader.

If chosen to lead Kadima again, Livni would not appoint Mofaz as her number 2 this time. Nor would she quit politics if she loses the leadership, as Mofaz is implying, she says.

"Mofaz, in the knowledge that Kadima under his leadership would collapse, is trying to get people to vote for him, [telling them] ´I´ll be elected and she´ll be a senior minister in my cabinet,´" says Livni.

Livni admits she has made mistakes and which cost her and the party popularity.

"I was too statesmanlike. In hindsight, it was a mistake. This...damaged the perception of my leadership, both internally and externally. At the start of my term there were attempts to split Kadima; [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu tried to tempt seven MKs to join his cabinet. I tried to keep Kadima together. I think that was a correct decision at the time, but for me it meant that I contained and swallowed things that ordinarily I wouldn´t accept - with the result that my leadership was undermined," she says.

The full interview will appear in Haaretz Magazine tomorrow. (© Copyright 2012 Ha´aretz 02/16/12)