Lawmakers have been meeting in the past week to decide how to spend roughly NT$1.6 trillion of the public's money, but the fierce fighting that has characterized previous struggles over the nation's budget has largely disappeared.
Some lawmakers -- disheart-ened over having lost their seats in the Dec. 1 elections -- don't have the enthusiasm to put up a fight in the legislature.
Others who won re-election are skipping committee meetings to thank supporters in the field.
As a result, the Cabinet's proposed budget is sailing through the legislature's committees -- with little or no scrutiny.
In the past, lawmakers had used the budget process to score political points.
But few lawmakers are attending committee meetings this year, leaving the sessions absent of the color that has typified previous budget battles.
"The re-elected legislators are busy thanking voters for their support," said lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), a New Party member.
"As for legislators who lost in the elections, they feel dispirited. There are only a few lawmakers who want to attend committee meetings to review the budget," said Lai, who lost his bid to return to the legislature.
Others say lawmakers have been reluctant to be aggressive in reviewing the Cabinet's proposed budget for fear of blundering onto a political land mine.
They note that the DPP in campaign advertising attacked KMT lawmakers for proposing cutbacks to many social welfare programs.
But DPP legislative whip Tsai Huang-liang (
Still, others say the peaceful atmosphere in the legislature is just the calm before the storm. They say big battles could erupt between the opposition parties and the DPP when the proposed budget bills enter their second stage.
But KMT legislator Apollo Chen (
Chen said that many committees had examined proposed spending bills earlier.
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