With the November nine-in-one elections drawing closer, the collaboration between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) is once again drawing public attention. The KMT Taipei chapter has reportedly decided to focus on winning an outright majority in the council. As such, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) will not appear in individual campaign events for TPP councilor candidates, and instead only attend joint campaign rallies.
The question is whether this blue-white “alliance” can hold, with the TPP not having a mayoral candidate and both parties pursuing their own interests in the council races. Despite their professions of cooperation, the KMT’s priority is to win a majority amid concern that the TPP could hurt its candidates’ electoral prospects. If they cannot even lend one another a hand on the campaign trail, what kind of alliance is this?
If Chiang hopes to win the support of TPP voters in the mayoral race, he cannot simply enjoy the electoral benefits of the blue-white alliance while refusing to bear any political cost. Asking voters in the white camp to support him while keeping his distance from TPP councilor candidates creates the impression that he wants a boost from the TPP, but is unwilling to offer anything in return.
Political cooperation is not one-sided. For the KMT to ask the TPP for support while imposing restrictions of its own would only erode mutual trust. Political parties can negotiate and coordinate, but they cannot force voters to cast their ballots according to the parties’ calculations. If the two parties cooperate on one hand while trying to block each other on the other, it would reduce the alliance to nothing more than an empty slogan.
The KMT and the TPP are, after all, distinct parties whose principles and interests do not always align, making genuine cooperation all the more dependent on sincerity. As much as Chiang would like to have his cake and eat it too, he should not merely expect votes from the white camp; he should also demonstrate commitment to cooperation through his actions. Otherwise, what kind of alliance does he claim to run?
Tsai Jr-keng is a retired elementary-school principal.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader
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