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TZIPI LIVNI, the leader of Israel's Kadima party in the Knesset, has chosen fresh elections rather than an unsustainable compromise. It is a courageous decision. "I wasn't ready to mortgage the future of Israel," she said, rejecting an agreement with the ultra-orthodox Jewish Shas party, which refuses to share Jerusalem with the Palestinians. Elections will be held next year, some 21 months early.

Mrs Livni has come a long way, as foreign minister under the departing Ehud Olmert, towards accepting the need for a two-state settlement, so as to preserve Israel's future. She now faces the daunting task of winning an electoral mandate to negotiate that outcome against a strong right wing which rejects such a settlement as much too far a step. Given the growing disenchantment among Palestinians about the long delay in reaching a settlement, and the increasingly disadvantageous conditions on offer, this may be the last chance for Israeli voters to decide clearly in its favour.