Last week, the office of former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) released a statement criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for being “dominated by one faction and overly beautifying one person.” While the person in question was not named, it was widely seen as a reference to DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) who, despite losing the recent Sinbei City mayoral election, has seen her position strengthened as party head. Lu later distanced herself from the statement, saying it was “written by an assistant with divine inspiration.”
Lu’s office also denied rumors that she would join with Winston Wang (王文洋), son of late Formosa Plastics Group founder Wang Yung-ching (王永慶), to contest the 2012 presidential election. However, as the DPP starts to debate how it will select its candidates, Lu, whose political ambition is an open secret, has also called for a nomination system that is “open, fair and reasonable.”
This is by no means the first time Lu has expressed displeasure with Tsai, who looks increasingly like the candidate to beat for the party’s presidential nomination.
One of the reasons for Tsai’s success is her grace and good sense when addressing the many issues facing the DPP at a time of great political change, including the barrage of attacks from Lu. Before chairing the DPP’s weekly Central Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday, Tsai went out of her way to greet the former vice president, and when reporters asked about Lu’s statement, Tsai simply said she had not seen it.
Tsai realizes two things. One is that at a key moment in the party’s history, the last thing the DPP needs is internal strife, whether ideological or personal. The other is that to whatever extent current changes are generational, senior party members represent an invaluable resource with decades of political experience and their ability to present new ideas to older voters who know and trust them.
Political egos being what they are, Tsai has become extremely adapt at keeping the peace, while making the best use of the old guard’s considerable talents. Most notable has been the return of Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) a thinker, strategist and seasoned campaigner with a long record of loyal service. Once again a member of the DPP’s Central Standing Committee, Hsieh helped Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) nearly pull off what would have been a stunning upset, coming within 30,000 votes of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) in the Greater Taichung mayoral election last month.
Having lost in his bid for Taipei’s mayorship, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has been keeping a low profile, but he has spoken repeatedly of the need for the DPP to reflect ongoing political change in Taiwan, as has former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃), who helped run Tsai’s campaign in Sinbei City. Both men have considerable experience and be extremely valuable in the next two years shoring up the DPP’s traditional base.
Even former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has backed Tsai. While his motives are harder to fathom, he urged Tsai to work with pro-independence groups rather than court a more centrist electorate. It is clear that Chen knows which way the political winds are blowing and how to retain some measure of political relevance, even from prison.
No one blames Lu for not wanting to be put out to pasture. Like Chen, she served time in “black jail” during the Martial Law era. She has sacrificed plenty for the party, the country and women of this nation, for whom her rise to the highest levels of public service represents an example worthy of emulation. This is all the more reason for Lu to put egoism aside, along with her often domineering style. Neither is going to play well in a resurgent DPP that has everything to gain from her wisdom and energy.
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