This article juxtaposes `temporary' versus `permanent' based on a study of the Israeli Prime Minister's `permanent incapacity' (the result of illness) and of the President's `temporary incapacity' (the result of a police investigation). Analysis indicates that: a) temporal maps are mainly framed by focusing on `temporary' states; b) the temporal structure of `temporary' is associated simultaneously with a sense of stability and with a search for change and transition; c) the temporal structure of `permanent' is linked both to uncertainty and confusion and to the maintenance of continuity. It seems that the inherent tension between `temporary' and `permanent' is challenged by the notion of risk and the rise of `second modernity'.
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