People are speculating about Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) next move, given that his final term as mayor ends at the end of the year. As chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), Ko on Sunday last week joined party members at Yilan County’s Luodong Night Market (羅東夜市) to drum up support for the party’s candidates in the nine-in-one elections in November.
Asked whether he would run for president in 2024 or back a candidate in a coalition with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Ko said in a livestream interview that any strategy takes time to plan and carry out, then added that Taiwanese should elect him president in 2024 because he can bridge the political divide between the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). This is the only way to transform Taiwan into a united country, instead of a nation plagued by deep political fissures, he said.
DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) wrote on social media that voters would decide with their ballots whether Ko, who is quick to use unsavory and provocative language against his political enemies, is the “solution” or the “troublemaker.” Other Internet users said that the Taipei mayor had slapped himself in the face, after he had attacked the ambition of former Taipei mayors who thought about running for president.
Becoming Taipei mayor has often been regarded as a stepping stone to the presidency, as in the case of former presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
If Ko wishes to follow in his predecessors’ footsteps, he should first assess his performance over the past eight years. Ko has been considered a political chameleon, shifting his position from the green camp to the white camp and now to a white-tinged-with-red affiliation. He began the eight years as a political neophyte with pro-DPP leanings. He then introduced a new party into Taiwan’s political arena, intending the TPP to transcend the DPP and the KMT. Ko also seems to have pro-China leanings, such as demonstrated by his proposal to construct a bridge linking Kinmen (金門) and China’s Xiamen (廈門), which raised concerns about national security and had people questioning his ideology.
Ko has always been rated at the bottom of approval ratings. In retrospect, city residents might have difficulty recalling any of Ko’s contributions and achievements from his tenure as mayor. For example, the Taipei Dome is not expected to open before Ko leaves office. He has been unable to complete a single line in Taipei’s metro system, while Chen completed three lines in his tenure and Ma completed four in his.
Speculation that the TPP could collaborate with the KMT in the upcoming elections could have some truth to it, as Ko has focused his indignation on DPP politicians, while giving KMT members and their policies a pass. Ko’s blurring of the differences between the TPP and the KMT is said to be a way to turn pan-blue supporters white.
This kind of political maneuver might be shortsighted and utilitarian, but it shows that Ko is a cunning politician who can turn matters to his own advantage without winning over the public with leadership success or beneficial policies.
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