Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential hopeful Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said he had no interest in becoming the party’s vice presidential nominee for next year’s election.
Su, a frontrunner for the party’s presidential nomination, previously teamed with former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) as Hsieh’s running mate for the 2008 presidential election.
When asked about the possibility of becoming a vice presidential candidate, Su replied at a campaign stop: “I will definitely not become a running mate. I’m running for president in the hope that I can serve this country.”
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“I am not trying to reserve some sort of alternative route or planning another position for myself,” he added. “I want to be open and clear about this. I don’t need to wait until after the primary to express this.”
With recent rolls showing -support for Su and Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) nearly tied, there has been calls for the runner-up to join the winner’s campaign for the general elections.
Many DPP supporters see Su and Tsai as a dream ticket, while admitting, however, that chances of a joint ticket are slim.
Earlier, there was speculation of a compromise that would see the runner-up in the primary vie for the head of the party caucus and possibly legislative speaker, if the runner-up were not included as the vice presidential candidate.
Su sought to squash that speculation yesterday.
“I have never carefully considered [the ideas] or used this opportunity as an exchange for another position,” he said.
“That type of speculation simply looks down on me,” he added.
Tsai has remained quiet about the possibility of a joint ticket.
When approached for comment on the topic, she said it was too early to say. Any decision should wait at least until after the primary concludes on Wednesday, at the earliest, she said.
After the nomination is settled, “we should consolidate everyone’s opinions,” she also said at a campaign stop.
“I hope that a vice presidential nominee can benefit both the campaign and the future administration,” she added.
Yesterday wasn’t the first time that DPP candidates have commented on the idea of a joint ticket, although Su wasn’t as specific before.
On Wednesday, during the party’s final televised policy session, Su said that if he lost the primary he would become a “volunteer for Taiwan.”
At the same event, former DPP chairman and presidential nominee candidate Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), who is trailing in the polls, said that he would invite Tsai to join his ticket if nominated — an outcome that would take a “miracle from God,” he said.
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