Anthony Albanese dropped hose on dousing flames of anti-Semitism

Now there is an actual crisis, a national one the opposition has described as domestic terrorism against the Jewish community.

Anthony Albanese admitted before the last election that he couldn’t promise to be a perfect prime minister. “But I’ll tell you what I’ll be doing is this: if I ever do make a mistake, I’ll put my hand up. I’ll own it,” he vowed.

“I’ll take responsibility, and I’ll set about fixing it.”

Albanese was referring to his inability to cite unemployment and cash rates at the time.

Hardly a crisis.

The Labor leader’s vow nevertheless set his own standard for test of character.

Now there is an actual crisis, a national one the opposition has described as domestic terrorism against the Jewish community, there is no mea culpa in sight, no acceptance the federal government’s response has been too slow and feeble.

Having only on Monday dismissed calls for a national cabinet meeting on the crisis, claiming “what people want to see isn’t more meetings”, Albanese abruptly changed his mind on Tuesday following the firebombing of a childcare centre This in itself is an admission that the Prime Minister made a gross error of judgment.

One only has to look at NSW police statistics on reported anti-Semitic acts, including violence. On average, there has been an incident almost every day in January this year.

When Albanese issued his campaign pledge to take responsibility for failures and mistakes of his government, it was an attempt to draw a contrast between him and Scott Morrison on the principles of leadership.

Albanese is now facing the same leadership scrutiny he sought to apply to Morrison over the 2020 bushfires and his “I don’t hold a hose” remark.

Having had his own Morrison moment last week by suggesting the sentencing and policing issues around anti-Semitism were problems for states and territories, Albanese looks like he has been bludgeoned into holding a national cabinet meeting rather than proactively seeking solutions.

There was no unwillingness from the states for this to occur. Even Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan acknowledged in a rare moment of clarity that Australia’s reputation as a peaceful, multicultural country was on the line.

There has been a pattern to the federal government’s response that suggests habitual political reluctance.

It failed to identify the scale and trajectory of the problem from the outset. And Albanese’s resistance has only weakened his own position while elevating that of Peter Dutton.

The Prime Minister is right to defend the measures the government has taken but the action has been unhurried at best. It took six months to pass hate symbol laws and 12 months for anti-doxxing legislation.

It is this lack of urgency to its response that has been the catalyst for criticism that at a national level, Albanese failed to take responsibility early enough in setting a firmer and united position.

Would it have made a difference in stopping the depravity we are witnessing? Perhaps not.

But as leader, Albanese had the opportunity to uphold the expectations of the community not only by setting an unambiguous tone from the beginning but moving more swiftly in directing police and security agencies.

He last week suggested the government had done all it could to tackle the problem.

The response from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry was savage, likening it to claiming economic achievements during a depression.

It has taken the firebombing of a childcare centre to force a volte-face on a national cabinet meeting, which only confirms Albanese’s judgment when it comes to this issue will continue to be questioned. As a consequence, he now appears to follow rather than lead.