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Lu suggests proportional Cabinet structure

The government should form a "proportional Cabinet" with political parties sharing power based on the number of seats they hold in the legislature after the December elections, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday.

Lu said a proportional Cabinet would help realize the goal of "government for all the people." She made the proposal yesterday in an opening address to a symposium on civil defense and national security.

By forming a proportional

Cabinet, Taiwan would be able to have a political environment in which there isn't an absolute ruling party or an absolute opposition party, the vice president said.

Lu said this could help put an end to struggles between parties. She said Taiwan's people need to establish a sense of "shared destiny," and political parties should stop disputing the issues of independence and unification.

The proposal follows a similar plan put forth by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Chen said he wants to form a coalition government after the elections, regardless of the election result.

Opposition parties think Lu's proposal is too idealistic, though inventive.

Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金), whip of the KMT legislative caucus, said the main problem with the proposal is that it is against the principle of party politics and is something "that will never be achieved."

"The party platform and policies of the DPP are totally different from that of the KMT, People First Party and New Party. How could these parties possibly govern the country together?" Cheng said.

Cheng said Chen's proposal for a coalition government and Lu's proportional government are both part of a DPP tactic to create a false impression that the DPP is a liberal and broad-minded party.

Cheng said the KMT insists that the DPP abide by the country's constitutional system, and the party that controls the majority in the legislature should have the right to name the premier.

Meanwhile, Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交), spokesman for the PFP legislative caucus, said that Lu's

proposal would rewrite the history of political development over the past thousand years. "This would be an unprecedented and pioneering thing that deserves a Nobel Peace Prize," Hwang said.

Agreeing with Cheng, Hwang said the differences between parties in term of their basic policies are a big problem. In addition, forming a so-called proportional Cabinet would mean the disappearance of any opposition parties to monitor the government, which is against the principle of democracy, Hwang said.
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