Leaders of the KMT and the People First Party yesterday rejected President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) proposal to form a "cross-party alliance for national stabilization" after the Dec. 1 legislative elections. They then urged the president to abide by the Constitution in the formation of a new Cabinet.
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) dismissed the Chen-proposed alliance as redundant and unnecessary.
"As long as everybody respects the constitutional system, the spirit of negotiation and the majority in the legislature, I'm sure we can form an efficient, functional government," Lien told reporters during a stopover in Kaohsiung before a campaign trip to Pingtung County. "It is unnecessary to bring about extra complications."
Lien said that since nobody has a clue as to what the alliance really means, it would be quite impossible for the KMT to join it.
He said the proposal was just another smokescreen by Chen to deflect public attention away from punishing the DPP over the severity of the economic situation.
"With only nine days left before the polls, [Chen] is playing a trick a day and just won't talk about the economy," Lien said.
At a campaign rally in Pingtung County, Lien urged the DPP to get "to the core of the problem," citing a Bible story in which Jesus asked one of his disciples to fish in the middle of the lake, instead of staying at the bank.
"We hope the government will go to the deep end of the lake and find an answer to the nation's ills," Lien said.
PFP Chairman James Soong (
Soong reasoned that Chen's proposal was a clear indication that the president would never surrender the right to form a Cabinet.
Soong also highlighted what he saw as an attempt to create splits within the opposition by picking off individual legislators to take part in the alliance, rather than dealing directly with the opposition parties.
"Would members of the alliance be political parties or individuals? This is a problem that will hamper its functioning and questions its feasibility," Soong said during a campaign trip to Ilan County. "Under these circumstances we see no prospect for a resolution to the post-election deadlock."
Soong suggested that Chen should respect the majority in the legislature and establish a mechanism for inter-party negotiations in order to achieve stability.
"Political stability will be impossible if the president isn't prepared to negotiate and share power with other parties," he said.
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