End the early elections tailspin

Not a day goes by without multiple reports on the inevitability of early elections, and not a day goes by without just as many reports on how the government will ultimately stay intact. No one can govern effectively in a state of perpetual crisis; not with so much going on, with so much on everyone's plate.

All the coalition partners have stressed they have no desire to dissolve this government. But the government is suffering from the chronic condition that every time a bill comes up for a vote, a crisis ensues. Our leaders, it seems, are unable to get their act together, and assert leadership within their own party. Whenever some inconvenience comes up, they run for the hills, rather than making sure their subordinates fall in line. They would do anything rather than bite the bullet.

The party leaders have caused internal dissent among their own factions, creating a situation where there are effectively two governments marching along two separate paths. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to submit the "Jewish state" bill may underscore his belief that early elections are just a matter of time. Why? Because before all this election talk, he had promised to change its language and revise its provisions. Livni, who shares Netanyahu's assessment, immediately countered his move by suggesting everyone go back to the drawing board. This, she hoped, will produce a bill that everyone could embrace.

Despite this sudden onslaught of legislative items, they offer nothing new, and they are unlikely to gain currency among voters.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid believes the new haredi enlistment law he shepherded is an electoral asset, but will it actually translate into votes? Not necessarily. Nevertheless, he and other MKs are flooding the airwaves with new proposals because they are worried. They fear that by the time early elections are called it will be too late to present their vision. They are concerned that once the Knesset dissolves, they will not be able to shine a spotlight on their laundry list of ideas and the public will not tune in to hear about the popular measures they champion.

Regardless of how we got here, this madness must stop. The snafu of the past few days must come to an end right now, not in the coming days, not in the coming week. The coalition's tribal chiefs must convene and collectively walk back the slew of statements they recklessly made throughout this crisis. They must announce a moratorium on the legislative barb-trading by putting their ongoing spats on hold. They would then put each other to the test to see who abides by the truce.

We cannot let this chaos continue because it may result in long-term damage.

We have invested so much in our schools' social studies curriculum, but these millions of shekels will have been squandered if innocent high school graduates view their politicians with cynicism and distrust. As the Bible says, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm" (Psalms 105:15).

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