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Editorial: Council of Grand Justices the loser

Nominating the members of the Council of Grand Justices is an important part of a president's job. But this year, the nomination and legislative-approval process has been completely vulgarized and politicized, tarnishing the justices' image as guardians of the Constitution.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) sent a list of nominees to the Legislative Yuan on May 21. But on Friday the legislature decided not to review and ratify the nominations until its next session in September. This has made the nominees and Chen extremely anxious. DPP legislators are organizing a joint proposal to ask the president to call an extraordinary session of the legislature so that the appointment of the justices will not be delayed.

The crux of the problem is not in the political wrangling -- it is next year's presidential election. PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) is manipulating the pan-blue camp's legislative majority to rein in Chen's authority.

It should be a simple matter for the legislature to extend its spring session until the end of the month to review council nominees. The legislature has extended almost every session to review the backlog of bills. The pan-blue camp's claim that Chen sent the nominations in too late for the legislature to have sufficient time to review them is just a political excuse. The legislature decided its agenda for the rest of the session by majority vote, but they did not decide what is right and what is wrong.

If the DPP accepts the legislature's decision to delay reviewing the nominees until September, it will hand Soong control of the pan-blue camp. This is not something the ruling party wants to see. KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) leadership has suffered a setback. Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and some KMT lawmakers are also unhappy about Soong's attempts to control the pan-blue camp.

Ever since the de facto abolishment of the provincial government, Soong has not had a taste of victory and power. This may not be his motive for engineering the row, but it could create tensions between Soong and Lien.

Chen is now attempting to call an extraordinary session of the legislature despite the political risks inherent in such a move. The possible outcomes are as follows.

One, the legislature rejects the president's call and returns the nomination document to the Presidential Office, citing that it has already passed a resolution on the matter, and accusing Chen of obstructing the legislature's independence.

Two, the legislature calls a vote and vetoes the call for an extraordinary session.

Three, Chen musters a majority and the legislature convenes an extraordinary session, in which case the opposition may vent its anger on the nominees, rejecting a large number of them as a result.

Chen knows the political risks of asking an extraordinary session. Vicious partisan wrangling is detrimental to the authority of the president as well as the dignity of the Council of Grand Justices. But the DPP appears to be adopting a political approach by seeking public sympathy in light of the humiliation it has suffered. This approach may not facilitate a smooth generation of grand justices, but it will help in next year's presidential election.

Both the ruling party and the opposition are making their own political calculations and using the grand justices as sacrifices. If the politicians don't know when to stop, they will be judged by the electorate with their votes.
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