KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Lien, who was defeated as a presidential candidate in 2000 and is said to fancy a comeback, dubbed the DPP administration "a government of the mess," mocking the system proposed by President Chen Shui-bian (
"For the past two years, the DPP has sought to form a government for all the people. ... Yesterday I learned about the `multi-party coalition government.' I don't know what kind of government it is. We can call it government of the mess,'" Lien told a group of veterans yesterday.
He also said the nation's competitive advantages had been sacrificed at the expense of the DPP government's focus on political struggle.
According to Lien, the country is in the midst of a severe crisis of confidence and could soon be "devoured" by its global competitors, as rising unemployment and a sagging economy continue to take their toll.
He conceded that the cause of his defeat in 2000 was the split in the party, adding that he would strive to cooperate with the PFP and New Party to come up with novel ideas to save the nation.
The KMT lost its five-decade grip on power in 2000, after Chen defeated Lien and James Soong (
Obtaining less than 40 percent of the vote, Chen achieved a marginal victory, as Soong won 36.8 percent.
Lien came in a distant third, garnering just 23 percent of the ballots.
Originally seeing one another as political rivals, Lien and Soong have reconciled in order to oppose the DPP.
It is reported that the two leaders will soon meet to discuss how to respond to the forming of Chen's "cross-party alliance for national stabilization" in the legislature.
Besides the "pan-green's" 102 legislative seats, the DPP intends to form the alliance with at least 120 lawmakers in order to support the DPP-led government in policy implementation.
Lien declined to provide further comments on the cross-party pact yesterday, but has said that the KMT and PFP have decided not to join the alliance, because they believe "it would be in the country's interests if the government acted according to the Constitution."
In other words, the opposition camp contends that the party which wins the most legislative seats should gain the right to form a government.
Although the opposition leadership has tried to dissuade their lawmakers from taking part in the alliance, some KMT legislators have expressed an interest in the Chen plan.
KMT lawmakers Chen Hung-chang (陳宏昌) and Chen Ken-te (陳根德) said that the KMT should be open-minded and give the DPP government a chance.
They noted that the KMT will deviate from the public's will if it "opposes the DPP for the sake of opposition."
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