Drawing on the political lessons of Taiwan's African allies, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said Wednesday he may resurrect a plan to bring calm to the legislature: A cross-party alliance for stability.
The DPP ditched the plan after last year's legislative elections, when it surprisingly won 87 seats in the December polls and inflicted a heavy defeat on the KMT.
But with recent legislative disputes and the apparent weakening of the "pan-blue" camp, the proposed alliance may again be a viable option.
Chen on Wednesday said the time was ripe for a national alliance to secure a stable majority in the legislature.
"I have instructed my aides to exchange views and information with various parties on this issue," he told reporters on his flight from Senegal to Sao Tome and Principe.
During last year's legislative campaign, Chen proposed the stability alliance, saying it would be composed of 120 lawmakers of all political stripes in the 225-seat legislature.
But after the elections, the DPP-led government had trouble signing up "pan-blue" camp members and the "pan-green" camp still lacked a majority.
At the time, the TSU and DPP had 102 seats in the legislature, while the "pan-blues," comprising the KMT and PFP, held 114 seats.
Chen said Wednesday that, as the vote for top government posts last month indicates, the political strengths of the ruling and opposition parties are equaling out.
"We can seriously think about whether it's necessary to form a `majority alliance,' a `ruling alliance' or even a `national alliance for stability,'" the president said. "The name of the alliance is not important; what matters is that it can stabilize the political situation."
Prior to last December's legislative elections, Chen said the ruling DPP would need to unite with like-minded parties or independent lawmakers to form an alliance for national stability in order to secure a stable majority alliance in the legislature.
Chen noted to reporters on Wednesday that the political situations in Senegal and Sao Tome and Principe are similar to Taiwan's.
In Senegal, the ruling party at one point had less than one third of the parliamentary seats and had a difficult time ruling. President Abdoulaye Wade then dissolved the parliament, cobbling 39 small parties into a majority alliance, also known as the "alliance for change."
Later, Wade amended the Constitution and cut the number of seats in the parliament to 120. His party then gained 89 seats to become the majority party.
"Sao Tome and Principe became independent in 1975, but its political groundwork was so shaky that its Cabinet was reshuffled frequently," Chen said. "President Fradique de Menezes' minority party cooperated with other political parties in elections and has now formed a majority."
Chen said that the political instability in Taiwan is a result of the "pan-blue" camp's obsession with its majority, even though it's a marginal and superficial one.
And last month's confirmation vote for Examination Yuan president shows that the opposition has lost even its superficial majority, Chen said.
The DPP government managed to scrape together the 113 votes needed to approve its candidate by drawing on the support of KMT lawmakers, who were later punished for failing to toe their party's line.
"The expulsion of a few KMT lawmakers from the party will lead to a reorganization of the political landscape," Chen said.
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