Su gives his `role model' face in presidential race

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday he would withdraw from the presidential election if former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) were to enter the race.

"He [Lin] has always been my role model as a politician," Su said.

"I will withdraw from the election and do my best to assist him if he announced his participation in the campaign before I have secured the party's nomination," he said.

The premier made the remarks when fielding a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) in the legislature.

Lee had asked Su what he would do if Lin decided to run in the presidential election.

Su said that Lin was a remarkable DPP character, because he never became irritated or angry, nor did he forget his promises to supporters under pressure from political opponents.

If Lin really wanted to run for the presidency, Su said, he would immediately call off his own campaign activities and throw his weight behind Lin.

However, Su added that he would do so only if he were not nominated by the DPP.

"If the DPP nominates me as the candidate, I will go for it anyway," Su said.

When approached for comment on the possibility that Lin may be interested in the DPP's presidential bid, DPP caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said that as far as he knew, Lin did not intend to participate in the primary.

"The wrangling between the [party's] four presidential hopefuls prompted some supporters to invite Lin to join the race," Wang said.

Su, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) are vying for the party's nomination for next year's presidential election.

"However, the timing would be wrong and it would disrupt the DPP's primary mechanism [if Lin were to participate in the primary]," he added.

According to the DPP's primary timetable, candidates who wanted to enter in the primary had to have done so by March 9.

Additional reporting by Flora Wang