Former vice president Annette Lu’s (呂秀蓮) participation became the focus of official discussions yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on the coming presidential campaign.
The only DPP politician so far to have declared her intention to run for president next year, Lu, whose attendance was initially uncertain, eventually showed up at the high-profile discussions, which involved a dozen of the party’s most senior members.
The discussions centered on avoiding a repeat of the damaging primaries of 2008, when presidential hopefuls traded barbs and insults.
Participants called to the meeting by DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said as they entered that they hoped the discussions could spark party unity, calling it key to taking back the nation’s presidency next year.
Attendees said the group arrived at a resolution affirming the importance of party harmony and agreed on another meeting in the future. However, no date was set.
The get-together came after months of speculation that Tsai and former premiers Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) could declare their candidacies before a party imposed deadline of March 21.
The three attended the meeting along with other party heavyweights, including former Examination Yuan president Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) and Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊).
DPP officials said the discussions were held to provide a basis for potential DPP presidential candidates to exchange opinions before the primaries next month.
Tsai wanted to keep party members in accord for the coming elections and had told participants that “anything is open to discussion,” DPP officials said.
However, the primary focus remained on Lu, who declared her intention last Monday to run despite polls showing she would only have a slim chance of winning the DPP ticket. Prior to that, she was involved in a row with Tsai over how the presidential primaries would be held.
Lu initially cited a conflict in schedule despite having hinted earlier that she would attend the meeting. She later arrived after a last-minute appeal by the DPP secretary-general.
A DPP source said party politicians were deeply concerned about her participation at the meeting, contending that she was the first member consulted about the timing of the meeting.
“[The meeting] wasn’t easy to organize. Lu was the main priority and we took into consideration her timing the most,” the source said.
Lu was reportedly upset after she did not receive an invitation to a meeting between Tsai and Su last week. The talks were not made public, but are believed to have centered on the presidential campaign.
The former vice president demanded on Thursday that a similar meeting between Tsai and herself be held. However, after the DPP agreed to her request, Lu subsequently canceled the talks, the party source said.
The failure to hold the meeting on Saturday afternoon has led to concerns in the party about a deepening spat between the two, coming just weeks before primaries are scheduled to be held.
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