Scholars say coalition government is the answer

The three major political parties should give serious thought to a coalition government and work out concrete plans before the legislative elections, despite a negative perception among the public about such an arrangement, pundits said yesterday.

"No party can win majority control in the year-end legislative elections," said Wu Tung-yeh (吳東野), a political scientist from National Chengchi University. "A coalition government appears [to be] the only way to resolve tensions between the executive and legislative branches."

With barely one-third of the legislature, the DPP-led government has had difficulty pushing its policy bills through the legislature in the last year, Wu noted. He predicted that the dilemma would continue, as the ruling party aims to grab only 80 of the 225 seats in December, in line with its electoral strength.

Wu urged President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and opposition leaders to prepare for a coalition government to avoid recurrent political feuding.

"In most democratic countries, whichever party wins the elections, the voters know beforehand what the Cabinet will look like," Wu noted, attributing the predictability to transparent contacts among rival groups. "Taiwan's politicians should imitate the practices, which can help to screen out unnecessary surprising elements," he held.

Chou Yu-jen (周育仁), an instructor of public administration at National Taipei University, echoed the observation, saying that the opposition would constantly threaten to topple the Cabinet through a no-confidence vote in the absence of a coalition government.

"Like it or not, a coalition government appears inevitable," Chou said, adding that the fact is widely acknowledged by DPP lawmakers.

DPP legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄), for one, has openly suggested that his party strike a deal with the main opposition KMT that binds the two in a coalition, if neither is able to win a majority in the legislative elections.

Under the bipartisan scheme, the party with the most legislative seats would steer the Cabinet, with the consent of the president. Chen has flatly rejected any cross-party ventures, calling them ploys by certain politicians to advance their own interests. The KMT, once a vocal advocate of such a design, has recently dropped the campaign to avoid charges it is seeking to cling onto power despite the defeat at the presidential poll last year.

KMT lawmaker Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said that the party still favored a coalition government but considered it wise not to make any moves until after the legislative election.

Despite reform efforts, the party has yet to shake off its image as rigid and prone to corruption.

The People First Party, although receptive to a coalition government, has said it would rather wash its hands of it, in light of the negative perception among the public about the arrangement.

"The DPP can form a coalition without the participation of the PFP when such needs arise," PFP official Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) said. He conceded that the party's hesitation stemmed mainly from fears of accusations that the PFP is power-hungry.

The fledgling party has been plagued with rumors that it is seeking to steal members from its allies, particularly the New Party.

Chang denied the rumors as untrue but revealed that the PFP has laid out a two-phase plan to replace the ruling DPP in 2004.