Editorial: Toward a brave new world

Two KMT legislative candidates known as members of the "pro-localization" faction -- Chen Horng-chi (陳鴻基) and Chen Hsueh-fen (陳雪芬) -- have called on the party to build a coalition government with the DPP after next month's elections. Their move attests to the tremendous pressure facing them in the fight for votes. It has also brought the KMT's identity crisis -- widespread but hitherto kept under wraps -- to the surface.

Under KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) leadership, the party has cut the umbilical cord that connected it to his predecessor and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and moved to vie with the People First Party and the New Party -- which are basically KMT spinoffs -- for mainlander votes.

In doing so, the KMT has abandoned the pro-localization voter base, which accounts for 80 percent of all votes. Meanwhile, the conflict over the KMT's future continues to percolate within the party, to which the two Chens' latest move is but an early pre-election overture.

There are at least three scenarios for the post-election KMT. It could maintain the "pan-blue" alliance with the PFP and New Party and try to wrest Cabinet-forming power from the DPP government -- if the alliance can obtain a legislative majority. Or the pan-blue alliance could crumble and the KMT remain the opposition party. Or the KMT could build a coalition with the DPP, create a stable legislative majority and share administrative resources with the DPP.

The likelihood of the third option is pretty slim, given that voices within the party calling for cooperation with the DPP have been suppressed since the government halted construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant -- right after a meeting between Lien and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). The idea of keeping an equal distance from both the DPP and the PFP has also not won much attention. Lien's rapid shift away from Lee's pro-localization path clearly demonstrates that the KMT has no intention of ever cooperating with the DPP -- unless, of course, there is a change in the top party leadership.

But cooperating with the DPP is not just a campaign strategy for the KMT, it should be a serious option after Dec. 1. KMT insiders have admitted that grassroots supporters are sick and tired of all the partisan wrangling and long to see the different parties cooperate to stabilize the political situation. Many pro-localization voters are also very unhappy with the way the KMT has handled Lee in the campaign, as well as the party's heavily pro-China platform.

On the other hand, the PFP's ambitions to co-opt the pan-blue camp are also making many KMT members unhappy. They believe the KMT should leave more leeway for partisan cooperation instead of letting PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) do whatever he wants.

All of this is putting tremendous pressure on KMT candidates.

As the elections draw near, the misgivings generated during the campaign will subtly influence the post-poll partisan reshuffle. The DPP has launched a tough offensive, naming names of those who helped block or defeat specific public welfare and development budgets. This no-holds-barred campaign has thoroughly infuriated its targets. Meanwhile, since the many factions within the pan-blue camp nominated more candidates than their voter base can support, internecine battles are wracking the alliance. The winners will capture the seats they sought, but at what cost?

Taiwan's politicians are good at calculating the pros and cons of political maneuvers, but not at planning long-term projects. Party leaders should seriously consider building a new political order after the elections. If they allow the election battle to rage without restraint, it will be all that much harder to build a new order from rubble -- and harmful for Taiwan's long-term prospects.