[EDITORIALS]Calm down and get to work

The floor leaders of the Uri and Grand National parties met yesterday and arranged the first step to normalize National Assembly operations.
The Assembly has been crippled for more than 10 days, and we welcome yesterday’s results. Now that the conflict appears ready to be resolved, we hope the two parties further demonstrate political tolerance.
The current conflict began when Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan criticized the Grand National Party. Had Mr. Lee decided to offer an apology to the party earlier, the conflict would have already been resolved. But because Mr. Lee remained adamant and the Blue House did not care about the issue, the situation grew serious.
The Uri Party could have made efforts to end the problem earlier, but the party was dominated by its hawkish faction and failed to do so.
Mr. Lee’s controversial criticism of the opposition party and the ensuing strife made us even more disappointed at the administration’s lack of capability to lead state affairs.
The Uri Party, which promised a new politics and thus became a majority party in the April elections, should not be so stubborn. It should intervene and press Mr. Lee to offer an apology and help get government business moving again. If it does, the people might start to believe that the governing party is not arrogant and gain some trust in it.
The Grand National Party should consider that it will be criticized if it continues to boycott this Assembly session.
The Grand National chairwoman, Park Geun-hye, said, “If there is a single lawmaker among us who opposes attending the Assembly, none of us will join the Assembly.”
We believe that such a remark by Ms. Park is not proper. If she is dominated by the hawkish faction of her party, then it will not advance. We believe that if the party shows a willingness to abandon its demands for an apology from Mr. Lee, the public would applaud it for its resilience. What is important for the party is to play the role of a true opposition party. It should not be concerned about such things as a boycott.
We hope to see a governing party that offers an apology for any faults it has and an opposition party that cares for the people, not for such an insignificant cause.
When can we see the parties engage in tolerant politics?