The KMT has struggled to “turn the game around,” Lo said, adding that the momentum could cause a ripple effect that will undermine its prospects in the five special municipality elections at the end of the year, which are considered more important than the two recent legislative by-elections.
“More white-collar workers and middle-class people appear to be supporting the opposition. [We should] bear in mind that there are more such voters in the five special municipalities,” Lo said.
Saturday’s by-election was also a personal setback for King, who accepted Ma’s invitation to serve as KMT secretary-general in December. Ma appointed King to accelerate party reform and organize election campaigns. The defeats in the two by-elections are expected to exacerbate resentment among party members who have challenged his abilities and disagree with party reform.
Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華), a political scientist at National Chengchi University, said King failed to foster meaningful change within the KMT, adding that the election campaigns he organized were no better than prior to his appointment.
The biggest factor behind the KMT’s defeats, Ku said, was the lack of public trust in the Ma administration.
The government did a poor job explaining its policies, including its proposed signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, he said, adding that the KMT would suffer more defeats in the special municipality elections and the presidential election in 2012 if Ma repeated those mistakes and failed to make policymaking process transparent.
Ma yesterday apologized to supporters and vowed to proceed with party reform.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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