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Leading the donkey with a firm grip on its tail

As the next election approaches, all presidential candidates have been engaging in an ass-kissing campaign by reaching out to young voters. Since more than 1.6 million eligible voters will join in the election next year, how to lock on to those new voters becomes an essential issue for both the ruling and the opposition parties.

The latest public poll shows that 57 percent of the respondents supported KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and his running mate, PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜). Meanwhile, 37 percent would vote for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) if he sought re-election with Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮). Another 17 percent said they would not vote.

The results of the survey are a wake-up call to Chen and his administration largely because the young voters constituted the main support base for his victory in the last election.

As Chen and the DPP struggled for the first three years after the nation's historic change of political power and have been having difficulties reviving the nation's sluggish economy, young peoples political affiliation seems to have gradually changed.

Enjoying endorsement from the younger generation is not guaranteed for Lien and Soong. Whether or not the young voters would turn their disappointment in Chen into supporting the Lien-Soong ticket remains to be seen. Both Lien and Soong were losers in the last election and were considered as key figures of the KMT old generation.

To prove that their joint ticket is not a replay of the politics of the elderly, both Lien and Soong have been seen sporting a younger look in an attempt to convince voters that their age will not detract from leading the country. Moreover, in comparison with the DPP government's lack of governing experience, both of them have tried to remind the youth that leadership is not about age but about wisdom and experience.

Chen has also started his "meet the youth" tour by appearing in Internet talkrooms, inviting young people to his residence and traveling to universities. Enjoying less passion than he did before, Chen spent a tremendous amount of time defending some of the government's failures to execute policy.

Given that the young generation is more politically independent, to kiss the young voters asses is not an easy task for all politicians.

Ass-kissing is both an art and a science. No one gets to the top without learning how to deal with people you can't stand. And usually the best way to deal with them is to pretend you like them.

One rule of ass-kissing is to be a good listener. And it means really listen, engaging your partner nonverbally, visually and intellectually.

Chen, Lien and Soong have to remember the rule that reads: motivate, don't dictate. Knowing what to do is not that hard. What separates the successful from the mediocre is the ability to get other people to do what you need them to do. And if you think you can get people -- especially independent younger voters -- to do what you want simply through words and deeds, you are wrong.

In March 2000, the DPP camp successfully mobilized the young generation to be the creators of the nation's democratic history. Chen's personality as a reform-minded leader gave young people hope that Taiwan can move toward a brighter future. Three years later, can Lien and Soong appeal to the young voters that the second alternation of political party deserves their choice?

In sum, ass-kissing entails not only the change of outward appearance and innate character but most importantly, the action that could meet the expectations of the younger generation.

Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
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