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What would Soong be like as vice president?

In presidential systems, it is never easy for the president to build a sound working relationship with his or her teammate. Even in a country such as the US, the vice president is often treated as an outsider to the president's inner circle.

Taiwan is no exception to this model, as illustrated by how President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) interacted with Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮). It took nearly three years for Chen and Lu to establish a relatively healthy working relationship despite occasional quarrels between them over policy areas.

In this regard, the teaming up of KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) for the next presidential election will bring about great challenges. There are at least three potential dangers embedded in the Lien-Soong alliance.

First, they were competitors in the last presidential election. Lien and Soong accused each other of not being qualified to be the national leader. Now, they treat each other with respect as if their past rivalry was merely for the sake of winning votes. The combination this time represents more of a marriage of convenience rather than a hopeful contestant. Their joint bid should be characterized as simply a "war of revenge" against Chen.

If the Lien-Soong ticket wins the presidential election next March, Taiwanese politics will enter another round of political wrestling, destabilizing the KMT-PFP alliance.

The second danger involves personality. Lien has long been portrayed as a stiff and conservative leader who has not shown strong leadership in the KMT. Soong is a master in political maneuvering. How a vice president Soong would be willing and faithful to play a supplementary role to the president in accordance with the Constitution is hard to imaging.

Judging by Soong's dominant role in recent flaps with the government on key issues, he has displayed his ambition to be not merely Lien's running mate, but to secure a more powerful position in the upcoming campaign. Can Soong restrain his ambition if Lien becomes president?

Finally, it is largely because of Soong's potential to hog the limelight that the possibility of a back-room deal between the KMT and the PFP is widely believed. Both sides denied such an arrange-ment, in which Soong would be both vice president and premier. Another possibility would be for Soong to become the chairman if the two parties ultimately merge. These deals would not be surprising if one takes into account Soong's political strength. How-ever, if the cooperation were defined as a marriage of convenience, would Lien and his KMT show any sincerity in fulfilling the agreements?

In theory, the vice president is potentially the most important member of the administration. But in reality, it is often up to the president to decide the extent to which his partner can be empow-ered. In the case of the US White House, almost every vice president has had a problem with the president's staff. In the first years of the Clinton presidency, the staff treated vice president Al Gore as an outsider. In the administration of former president George Bush, there was tension between the president's staff and vice president Dan Quayle. It is very common for vice presidents to be excluded from the core of decision-making.

The fact is, Taiwan is not as democratically mature as the US. An ambitious vice president would become a huge problem for the president if a constructive relationship can not be built in the administration.

Can the leaders of the pan-blue camp convince the voters that no constitutional crisis will happen after May 20 next year? Can we foresee self-restraint by Soong in the future?

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