Poll shows pan-blue camp favorite to win 2004 race

A pan-blue team ticket stands a better chance of winning the 2004 presidential election than a pan-green effort, according to an opinion poll released yesterday.

The survey -- administered by the Association for Public Opinion Research -- questioned 1,121 adults by telephone between Sunday and Monday and found that 45 percent of the people polled said that, together, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) stand a better chance of winning the 2004 race than President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).

Less than one fifth of the people questioned said that a Chen-Lu ticket could beat Lien and Ma.

The poll also found that 41 percent said that a Lien-Ma pairing stands a better chance of winning the election than an alliance between Chen and Premier Yu Shui-kun, while 21 percent said the Chen-Yu pairing were favorites.

Around 38 percent said that Lien and PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) are more likely to take the election than a Chen-Lu pairing, while nearly 25 percent said that Chen and Lu stand a better chance of winning.

The report also found that 36 percent said that a Lien-Soong pairing were in with more of a shout than a Chen-Yu pairing, while over 25 percent of the people said Chen and Yu could beat them.

Refusing to comment on the poll, Ma yesterday said that it is better for him to keep his mouth shut at the moment.

"As the economy is in the doldrums, the first priority is to hammer out a way to improve the economy, not to talk about such political issues that have nothing to do with everyday life," Ma said. "The public will get bored about such things."

Former KMT vice chairman Chiu Chuang-huan (邱創煥) said that all the talk about the Lien-Ma pairing being a better bet for the presidential race is a political conspiracy.

"It's like forcing the tiger to fight the wolf over food," Chiu said.

Chiu made the remark yesterday at the 90th birthday party of former premier Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿).

Former vice premier Hsu Li-teh (徐立德), who also attended the party, said that, although he did not have any personal preference as to who will run, the KMT and the PFP have to cooperate.

Another former premier, Hao Po-tsun (郝柏村), expressed the same opinion.

"The KMT and PFP have to cooperate before talking about the presidential pairing," Hao said.

Meanwhile, the poll also found that Yu has the highest approval rating among high-ranking government officials.

More than 50 percent of the people questioned said that they are more satisfied with the overall performance of Yu than that of Chen and Lu and, while 39 percent said that they think Lu does a better job than Chen and Yu, only 38 percent of the people said Chen rates higher than the other two.