Sun, Oct 07, 2001 page8

• Reaction to Nari sullies Mayor Ma's Teflon shell

  • By Yen Chen-shen 嚴震生
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  DURING THE 1980s when Ronald Reagan was president of the US, he was dubbed the "Teflon President" because no matter how bad the political or economic conditions got, he remained very popular. It was said he was like a Teflon frying pan, that nothing would stick to him. People young and old just liked him, for no apparent reason. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton succeeded Reagan with consistently high approval rates despite personal moral shortcomings.

  Taiwan has a "Teflon Mayor," Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of Taipei. Even though Taipei citizens may not approve of the performance of his team, they always give him a high personal approval rate. Even in scandals involving officials from the Education Bureau and Police Departments, Ma has emerged unscathed. Even in the controversial fight for water between Taipei City and Taipei County recently, Ma's popularity did not decline.

  Some observers, especially his opponents, attribute Ma's success to his good looks. He is immensely popular with female and young voters. He is also quite personable and soft spoken, never engaging in shouting matches. It is difficult to carry on a fierce argument with Ma. In this sense, Ma is a different brand of politician. A well-mannered politician is a rare breed in Taiwan's political circles. These attributes and Ma's Teflon nature have created the false impression that his re-election as mayor of Taipei is inevitable.

  In addition to his success as mayor of Taipei, Ma has rapidly become a heavyweight politician in his own party. He received the highest number of votes in the election for members of the KMT Central Committee. He is also thought of as a potential leader for the faltering KMT in future presidential elections. In a recent poll, more people said that Ma, rather than KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), should represent the party in the next presidential election.

  Because of Typhoon Nari's devastation, however, and the slowness and lack of coordination of the municipal government before and after the storm, Taipei citizens have become more critical of Ma. When he visited the disaster-hit districts of Taipei, residents no longer regarded him as free from blame. He received vocal complaints, being shouted at on many occasions. Suddenly, Ma has become part of the city government and not just a figurehead. His personal popularity is now closely connected with the performance of his team. Nari has finally removed his Teflon character.

  It's hard to tell, however, whether Ma can recover from the damage done by Nari. Does this mean that Ma will be vulnerable in his re-election bid next year?

  Not necessarily. Judging from the way he has so far handled this first major crisis of his administration, he might actually turn it into an opportunity. He did apologize for the incompetence of his administration. He also organized a reconstruction committee to review the causes of the damage brought by the typhoon so that proposals on the prevention of future disasters can be made. In other words, there is enough time for Ma to turn things around before the next election. By first claiming that the Taipei Rapid Transit System would not be normal for six months, Ma was shrewd enough to lower people's expectations of reconstruction. Now that some lines have been restored, Ma has accomplished the most important task in politics -- to exceed popular expectations. By doing so, he is likely to regain his popularity. But henceforward the sophisticated voters of Taipei will no longer separate Ma from his administrative team. No more Teflon mayor? Maybe.

  Yen Chen-shen is a research fellow of the Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University.
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