New signs emerged yesterday that former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) could take on a legislative role, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip saying that Su appeared inclined to accept the arrangement
“I have heard that former premier Su may agree to be included on the [legislators-at-large] list in order to get out the vote. It’s the right direction to take,” said DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), who was last week re-elected as leader of the party’s caucus.
The inclusion of Su, who narrowly lost to DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in April’s presidential primary, will remove a major obstacle in the upcoming election campaign with Su till commanding significant support in the party.
In a sign of reconciliation, Su has already indicated he would be willing to accept a role as Tsai’s campaign chairperson, putting to rest concern over a noisy split in party backing.
A meeting between the two is speculated to be in the works for some time this week, coming between Tsai’s return yesterday from a trip to the Philippines and an upcoming visit to Europe for Su, who has continued to maintain a high profile since the loss.
Su’s office declined to comment on Ker’s comments. Su spokesperson Andrew Wang (王閔生) said that a DPP task force was working on the legislators-at-large list and the campaign had no comment on the issue.
“As long as it’s for the party’s good, Su will put in his best effort, whatever the position,” Wang said.
On the Tsai-Su meeting, he said: “We will respect Tsai’s arrangements.”
Under DPP regulations revised earlier this year, Tsai has the authority to lead a task force to select DPP legislator-at-large candidates that will be elected based on the party’s share of the popular vote. The list of 34 candidates must be approved by the party’s executive committee.
The list is expected to be decided on later this week, with former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) also expected to be included in the talks.
DPP politicians have indicated that if Su shows willingness to be included on the list, he would easily be chosen as next year’s caucus chief, or possibly as legislative speaker, depending on the number of seats the DPP garners in January’s legislative elections.
Despite outright rejecting the the idea of being Tsavice presidency last month, Su has remained inconclusive on the topic of whether he plans to accept a role as legislative leader.
In a sign that his political aspirations have not yet ended, Su unveiled his new office on Sunday, along with a streamlined staff of 20, down from the 40 to 50 he employed during the party’s presidential primary.
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