From the first night that National Left movement leader Eldad Yaniv brought tents to Rothschild Boulevard, I felt a great deal of sympathy for the protest movement against the high cost of housing in Israel. I did not think that either partisan or political involvement discredited the protesters' struggle. Their time had come. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz have propelled our economy to unheard-of heights, an achievement that stands out all the more when considered against the backdrop of recession-afflicted Western countries. But the dazzle of our success has dulled the government's eyes. They failed to grasp the danger lurking around two related points. First, they investigated the role of tycoons in the Israel economy too late. Tycoons have emptied the public's pension funds and are now brazenly asking not to repay a chunk of the money. On top of that, the government has failed to show concern for the plight of the middle class, instead preferring the sectors of society that, instead of contributing to national security or the economy, live off taxpayers' money and child allowances. Now, however, the protest movement is rocking in a million different directions, tossing about like a ship without wind in its sails. The government, under pressure, presented a plan to solve the housing crisis, and the next morning new demands popped up on a host of different issues. This protest clearly lacks leadership. If Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini has thrown his hat into the arena in an attempt to score public relations points, then he is just inflaming an already overheated situation. This is harmful. But if he chooses to take on a demagogic role, nominating himself leader of the protest movement and conducting negotiations with the government on its behalf, and this, in turn, leads to the dismantling of the tents, then he'll have made lemonade out of lemons. We'll have to wait and see. All sides of the protest movement, especially the vague and amorphous leadership, should understand one crucial rule: You can't get everything in life here and now. Each side has to establish priorities as well as green, gray and red lines. Each side has to be flexible. The government doesn't hold the tools to make us young and attractive and healthy and rich. Jewish tradition has some very wise sayings in this regard. "Who is rich? The person who is content with his lot," or "When you try to seize too much, you seize nothing." There are many other similar sayings as well. One more tumultuous month like this, and the excitement over our economic strength and the declining unemployment may very well fizzle out. If the stock exchange plummets and foreign capital flees, there won't be money to pay for what the government has promised, or for that which it will promise in future negotiations. Then those protesters, passing the month between their tents on Rothschild Boulevard and their places of employment, may very well find their lives changed beyond recognition. They may have to spend all 24 hours in a tent, while living off unemployment benefits.