The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been advised by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to reverse a recent slide in public opinion polls by becoming assertive and aggressive, which he said would help the party’s prospects of victory in next year’s presidential election.
“The struggle of DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in recent polls should serve as a warning about her campaign strategy,” Chen, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year jail sentence for corruption and money laundering, wrote in an article published yesterday.
In opinion polls conducted by the DPP, Tsai’s lead over her main opponent in January’s presidential election, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), slid from 7.5 percent in late April to 0.2 percent last month
Chen praised Tsai for attracting more support than Ma in the 30-to-39 age group, an unprecedented achievement for a DPP presidential candidate, her “nuclear-free homeland” policy and her plan to include a property transaction tax as part of a tax reform proposal.
“Being an agenda setter who is not afraid of controversy is the right thing to do,” Chen said, adding that Tsai’s campaign should organize large rallies throughout the nation to “heat up” the atmosphere of the presidential race.
Chen said Tsai is still capable of winning and the outcome of the January election would be similar to that of the 2004 presidential election, with the DPP losing by a small margin in the north, while winning big in the south.
The central part of the country would be the final battleground, Chen added.
Chen questioned People First Party Chairman James Soong’s (宋楚瑜) possible impact on the election, saying that Soong, whose popularity and support ratings have surged recently to a reported double-digit range, would eventually be marginalized if he declared himself a presidential candidate.
“If Soong’s impact is more of a threat to Tsai than Ma, as the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] says, then the KMT should have encouraged Soong to enter the race, not tried to dissuade him from running,” Chen said.
DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the former president’s opinions were welcomed, without elaborating.
Tsai campaign plans to hold three large rallies in northern, central and southern Taiwan next month, as well as to celebrate the party’s anniversary.
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