The KMT's humiliating defeat in the presidential election last year ended the era of strongman leadership for the century-old party -- a change that will bring democratic reform as well as factional strife, analysts note.
Eighteen months after taking over the KMT's helm, incumbent chairman Lien Chan (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
But Lien is unable to steer the vast party machine as adeptly as his predecessor Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), or the two dictators before him, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Chiang Kai-skek (蔣介石).
"The ongoing debate about key party policies shows that the KMT is no longer under the control of a strongman," said Lan Jeng-peng (
Indeed, to cast off its authoritarian image, the KMT has introduced several liberal reforms, most notably the direct election of the party's chairman -- although Lien ran in the race unopposed.
In addition, the party has adopted a number of measures that aim to expand its decision-making process to minority groups. A quarter of the newly elected Central Committee seats, for instance, were reserved for women. For the first time in 107 years, the committee, elected by nearly 1,500 delegates nationwide, may confirm the party's legislative candidates-at-large and elect among themselves 31 members of the party's Central Standing Committee.
The latter privilege, while long in place, was symbolic at most because former party rules allowed the chairman to handpick a sizable number of Central Standing Committee members. And ranking government officials constituted the bulk of the highest decision-making body.
Despite a membership of 950,000 and a hefty war chest, the opposition party has hesitated to put up an aggressive campaign, leaving room for cooperation with the People First Party. Wang noted that the KMT last year amended its nominating process that places equal weight on opinion polls and closed primaries in choosing candidates seeking elected office.
"But some candidates apparently won their candidacy without going through the procedure," Wang said, attributing the inconsistency in part to the absence of a strong leader to iron out factional differences.
In fact, to ensure a maximum turnout, the KMT has enlisted members with gangland connections to run in the legislative elections, contradicting an exclusionary rule it adopted that bars such members from seeking public office.
"That shows how far the party will go to shake off its frowned-on ties to `black-gold' politics," Wang said. "There are simply too many exceptions made to the rules."
Still, some optimists expect the KMT to remain the largest force in the legislature, although it lags far behind the ruling DPP and the PFP in opinion polls.
Over the years, incumbent lawmakers have cultivated strong ties with grassroots members, many of whom tend to ignore party affiliations when forming their voting decisions, said Shaw Chong-hai (邵宗海), a political science professor at National Chengchih University.
"The loss of the Presidential Office has tipped the balance of power in favor of the party's legislative caucus, which used to act as a rubber stamp when it came to policy-making," he said.
Today, party legislators account for almost half of the Central Standing Committee, compared to less than five when the KMT was in control of government.
Armed with popular support, star lawmakers such as Apollo Chen (陳學聖) and Chu Li-luan (朱立倫) show no qualms about defying the party. And those still loyal to Lee are expected to revolt and push for Lien's downfall, if the party fails to achieve a satisfactory showing in the year-end elections.
"Surely Mr Lien would have to take the blame if that indeed took place," said KMT lawmaker Chen Horng-chi (
It appears the KMT is pinning its hopes on putting up a united front with the PFP and New Party in the fight against the DPP.
John Chang (
"It is unrealistic to expect the parties to set aside their own interests and integrate in four months time," Chang said. "The 2004 presidential election may be a better stage for the endeavor."
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