Editorial: A quick death for a stupid idea

The feud between the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan, or more precisely the opposition lawmakers, reached new heights when KMT legislative caucus leader Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) on Wednesday proposed that a no-confidence vote against Premier Yu Shyi-kun be held during the next legislative session. This is no slight matter, since the move could trigger an avalanche of political changes and shifts, including a dissolution of the legislature. Upon examination of the reasons cited for such a move, the only conclusion one can draw is that some people are out of their minds.

Lee two reasons for his proposal -- Yu's provoking the legislature with his criticisms and the Executive Yuan's talk about holding a public referendum through an administrative order. Both reasons are preposterous.

Yu's could hardly be called criticism, since he simply pointed out what is pretty much common knowledge -- the legislature's inefficiency. The nation's lawmakers waste far too much time and energy in inter-party and intra-party rivalry and bickering, instead of reviewing and voting on proposed laws.

It is normal in a democracy for the checks and balances between the different branches of government to work both ways. While it is the legislature's duty to keep an eye on the Executive Yuan's performance, the opposite is also true. So, Yu was simply doing his job when he indicated dissatisfaction with the performance of the legislature.

While inevitably result from such checks and balances, as exemplified by US president Franklin Roosevelt's less-than-endearing reference to the US Supreme Court Justices as "those nine old men," rarely has any retaliation as drastic as the one being proposed by Lee ever been taken.

If anything, the premier deserves a pat on the back for finally having enough backbone to speak the truth.

As for the talk about holding a public referendum based on an administrative order of the Executive Yuan, the opposition lawmakers have no one to blame but themselves. Had they been more efficient in reviewing and passing legislation, the proposed national referendum law (公投法) would have been enacted long ago. This inefficiency is of course deliberate. The opposition lawmaker are too afraid to openly oppose public referendums, so they simply make holding a referendum impossible by delaying enactment of the relevant law.

Both the KMT and PFP have already sought to distance themselves from Lee's proposal, apparently realizing they won't win political points with such a vote. They also know that such a vote would only divert attention, resources and energy from the pan-blue camp that would otherwise be put toward next year's presidential campaign.

KMT Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) said that Lee was speaking for himself, not for the party. The PFP's legislative convener Chu Yi (邱毅) said he didn't think the time was right for such a vote -- although he added that a new premier and Cabinet would probably be worse than the incumbents.

The public know the opposition lawmakers would be to blame if a no-confidence vote is pushed through. The pan-blue camp really should put an end to such thoughtless remarks, which serve only to stir up public resentment.