Anthony Albanese just blinked in a high-stakes game of chicken.

Stripping out controversial anti-vilification laws from a sprawling bill to counter antisemitism, after spending a week saying the laws must be passed as a whole, represents his second backdown in 10 days, following on from his royal commission reversal.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The move reflects poorly on what his political opponents always felt was a strategy to wedge them into backing policies they were uncomfortable with, at the risk of otherwise appearing obstructionist. Although, any embarrassment the prime minister might have felt was surely outweighed by the imperative of acting as a steward for the nation.

By ditching the most contentious elements of the bill, Albanese, probably through gritted teeth, has avoided what would have been a shameful scene if parliament failed to unite after the worst massacre of Jews since the 2023 Hamas attacks when it is recalled next week. After the royal commission episode dented his standing, he couldn’t afford another similarly bruising moment, even if the Coalition would have shared some of the blame.

The prime minister acknowledged that the caustic debate on the legislative response to the massacre, designed to heal the country, had actually torn at our fragile social fabric.

“We are going out of our way to support propositions that will promote unity. That........

© The Sydney Morning Herald