With the re-election of the two incumbent mayors Saturday, no political party reaped a major victory in the polls. Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
Attention almost immediately refocused on what Ma's next political step will be. Will he run for president in 2004 -- or will he follow the Chen Shui-bian (
Chen became the DPP's top political star after winning the mayorship in 1994. Despite his popularity, however, political ethics and his commitment to Taipei's residents stopped him from running in the 1996 presidential election, so the party nominated Peng Ming-min (
Can Ma's victory be interpreted as signalling the rise of the blue camp and the decline of the green? Ma won 110,000 more votes than in his first election, but this could be attributed to the fact that not only was he the incumbent, but he was facing a weaker challenger. Lee was not as strong as Chen in terms of publicity, campaign experience or the time he was given for preparation. At best, Lee could only defend the DPP's traditional voter base, not expand it.
The increase in Ma's vote count was therefore not surprising. Hsieh also saw his vote count increase, if by a much smaller margin. If the pan-blue camp saw its support rising, so did the pan-green camp, but on a smaller scale.
Another question is whether Ma's victory represents the rise of pro-unification forces. Ma has advocated direct links and called for an expansion of cross-strait exchanges. He has even suggested that Taipei's Sungshan Airport be used for direct flights. But Taipei's mayor is just a local government head. Cross-strait relations are determined by the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan. Ma's high vote count represents only voter identification with his charisma and his administration's performance. It would be absurd to interpret Ma's victory either as a sign of rising voter backing for the pan-blue camp or unification.
Ma's re-election was a major victory. As Chen readily admitted, it was a warning for the DPP, which does not have much to show after two-and-a-half years in power. The economy has yet to show signs of a strong recovery, unemployment continues to rise and financial reforms are in jeopardy. Educational reforms are also causing a public uproar. All these are reasons why middle-of-the-road voters abandoned the DPP and voted for Ma.
Now that the DPP has heard the electorate's voice, it must come up with concrete measures to improve the situation. Otherwise, it will pay a much higher price in the next elections.
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