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Hsieh welcomes power-sharing idea

One day after saying he would appoint a CEO as premier if elected, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday he would "seriously consider" asking his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival to lead the Cabinet.

"Although our government system is not parliamentary, it is one way of doing it," Hsieh said. "Let's see if we can have the chairman of the biggest party in the legislature lead the government. If that is the case, it would also make sense to form a coalition government."

Although the country has never had a coalition government before, Hsieh said he believed the DPP would accept the idea after the party suffered massive losses in last Saturday's legislative elections.

"[The DPP] is unlikely to enjoy as many resources as before. We must be modest and this is an opportunity," he said.

Hsieh made the remarks after meeting Home Party Chairman Chen Yao-chang (陳耀昌) in Taipei yesterday morning.

The DPP suffered a bruising defeat in last Saturday's elections, winning only 27 of 113 legislative seats. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won 81 seats, securing a comfortable two-thirds majority in the legislature.

The Home Party was founded by the leaders of last year's demonstrations against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). It and other smaller parties failed to win more than 1 percent of the second-ballot vote, in which 5 percent was required to qualify for legislator-at-large seats.

Chen Yao-chang told reporters after the meeting that as the country's government system leans toward a presidential model, he recommended to Hsieh that, if he is elected president, he appoint Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as premier and form a power-sharing government.

"We see a golden opportunity for the pan-blue and pan-green camps to reconcile after the legislative elections," he said. "Reconciliation is a pivotal precondition for lasting political stability and progression. I hope the two bigger parties will seize the opportunity."

Chen Yao-chang said he had also mentioned to Hsieh the "cross-strait peace coexistence" bill proposed by the Home Party. He said he would also pitch the idea to the KMT.

Hsieh did not endorse the proposed bill, however, pointing out the importance of negotiations in light of the fact that the party's number of seats had been dramatically reduced.

Hsieh said if anything positive came out of the legislative elections it was that the two leading parties were compelled to negotiate and cooperate with each other.

"It will be a good thing if we can grasp the opportunity to establish a system that can last," he said. "It is a critical moment and the situation has brought a sudden and dramatic change."

Hsieh also visited former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) in Taoyuan yesterday.

Expressing concern over the KMT's legislative majority, Hsu threw his support behind Hsieh's presidential bid.

Hsu said the DPP must recover its founding spirit and start anew.

Hsu, who once received harsh criticism from party members for urging the country to "march boldly westward and open the three full links" (大膽西進，開放三通), encouraged the DPP to adopt a cross-strait policy that is reasonable.

Hsu described Hsieh as "suitable to lead the DPP out of its current dilemma."

Commenting on former DPP legislator Shen Fu-hsiung's (沈富雄) criticism of him, Hsieh said he accepted criticism with an open mind, but would not lose his confidence.

Ma, meanwhile, said he approved of Hsieh's power-sharing idea, but added that it would not be necessary if the KMT won.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH AND CNA

Also see: Ma defends 'three noes' policy
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