More than anything, what is amazing is the speed and submission with which the Yesh Atid party accepted the new "freeze" decree that came from the offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the coalition chairman, MK Yariv Levin.
Despite the automatic condemnatory statements issued by party spokespeople following the decision to delay the advancement of the "zero VAT" law, it appears that in practice, Yesh Atid leader, Finance Minister Yair Lapid, was quick to adapt to the new reality.
If at the beginning of the week his people still hoped that it would be possible to complete the final vote on the law in the Finance Committee by Rosh Hashanah, now it is clear to them that this will no longer happen.
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The crisis between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance on the budget issue is an opportunity to examine the treatment that Minister Lapid's 19-man coalition party receives.
Well, let's put it this way: Without Avigdor Lieberman, they wouldn't dare act like this. No matter how legitimate the reasons given by coalition chairman Levin in explaining the decision to freeze the promotion of the zero-tax VAT law for the time being, this is an attempt to renegotiate with Lapid for an achievement that was supposedly already in his pocket.
Theoretically, the coalition is committed to a zero VAT law by virtue of the government's decisions in 2014, and without any connection to the 2015 budget.
Lapid accepted the de facto freezing of the law at the same time that he muttered a non-binding statement that he did not believe the law would be frozen. In a few days, when he reaches comprehensive agreements with the prime minister (assuming he does), Lapid will boast that as part of his achievements he managed to get his zero-VAT law back on track, even though he supposedly should have conquered this fortress long ago.
There is no reason for surprises. In the 18 months of government, Lapid's party stood out as the most innocent and the most battered of the coalition parties. Who even remembers that, based on its size, it is the most senior coalition partner.
What parliamentary achievements can they be proud of? About a year ago, when the previous winter session opened, Lapid convened his faction members and, in front of the cameras, announced his next legislative goals: a law on public transportation on Shabbat, and a law on civil unions for all (including same-sex couples). Luckily, unlike the Iron Dome systems, you don't have to pay for talk.
The laws Lapid promised weren't even put on the Knesset table. So he said.
Similarly, the "surrogacy law" initiated by Health Minister Yael German, as well as MK Adi Kol's law on tax benefits for same-sex couples, are stuck. In a few years, when Lapid remembers the distant days when he led the largest party in the Knesset and held a coalition with his bare hands, he will be surprised to realize how meager his list of parliamentary achievements was.
The conscription law, which was promised to him during the coalition negotiations; and the controversial governance law, which was already passed under Lieberman's pressure - and the rest, OK.
Perhaps because of this, or perhaps also because of the fact that he is basically a pleasant and easygoing person, one gets the impression that the Finance Minister is now interested in lowering the flames. It is possible that Lapid is frightened by his own threats. It seems that there is nothing he is interested in now more than some achievement that will allow him to return home safely and end the crisis.
When Lapid's associates are asked how they think the dispute can be resolved, they respond that it's not a problem at all: they'll add a little more to security (but not as much as the Minister of Defense wants), raise the deficit target a little more (more than the Prime Minister wants), and everything will be fine. As if the outline of the solution they are proposing doesn't go to the heart of the current dispute.
If Lapid manages to get both of these - a moderate increase in security that will be financed by raising the deficit target - he will be able to bask in the achievement and continue to sit securely in his seat.
In any case, he must hope that the deal doesn't end in an explosion. With his sparse record of achievements in the Knesset, it's not certain that he will have much to show the voter.
• The writer is Channel 10's political correspondent
