President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday remained tight-lipped on whether he was planning to reshuffle the Cabinet in the near future, saying that the evaluation of officials’ performance was an ongoing process.
He did say, however, that maintaining a stable government was a priority and that new government officials would have very little time to adjust to their new positions if he were to appoint new Cabinet members.
While he declined to say whether he was considering a Cabinet reshuffle, he said that the public would find out one way or another if any new appointments were made.
Ma made the remarks in a live interview with a radio station yesterday morning. His comments were made in response to the host stating that the approval ratings of both Ma and his government were plummeting.
While opposition parties have accused Ma of being incompetent, the president said he had accomplished several significant objectives since he took office in May, including on the diplomatic front, arms procurement from the US and cross-strait relations.
“I really don’t know what to say if some people still think I am incompetent,” he said.
Ma said that, in response to the criticism, he would conduct a review with an open mind and make adjustments accordingly.
The president said that the global economic downturn had played a significant part in public displeasure with the performance of his government.
Ma said his administration had adopted several measures to improve the economy, which is export-based and has received a significant blow from the global economic downturn.
The government’s initiatives included steps to increase domestic demand by investing in the construction of infrastructure projects, he said.
While the projects would take some time to show concrete results, Ma said that the fundamentals of the country’s economy remained sound.
Commenting on his sagging popularity ratings, Ma said he would reflect on his own performance, but added that he did not need to panic and just had to keep calm and be patient.
He said he would refrain from implementing impractical showcase policies just to salvage his approval ratings.
Ma added that he was confident that he was capable of leading the country as it weathers the global financial crisis.
A survey released by Global Views monthly magazine last month showed that more than 65 percent of Taiwanese were unhappy with the Ma administration.
The telephone survey of 1,005 people showed that 67.6 percent of respondents did not approve of his performance since assuming office.
A total of 43.4 percent said they did not trust him, while those who approved of his performance dropped to 23.6 percent from 24.9 the previous month.
The survey also showed that 61.7 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the performance of KMT lawmakers.
Even among pan-blue supporters, 47.5 percent voiced their discontent.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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