The newly-appointed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) promised to be an uncomplaining disciple of party chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in his quest for the presidency next year.
During his swearing-in ceremony on Friday, Wu received warm congratulations from more than 200 party members from Nantou.
However, some of his colleagues in the legislature have aired doubts about Wu, who has been dubbed a loner, questioning his competence for his role as secretary-general, a position whose incumbent should act as a mediator between the KMT and the legislature.
PHOTO: CNA
"Wu has valuable experience in elections and has a senior ranking in the party but he rarely interacted with colleagues and I think he should work harder on this," KMT Legislator Chen Chieh (陳杰) said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (
"Does he have enough prestige and vision to lead the KMT? I think he faces extremely difficult tasks," Huang said when asked to comment on Wu's new post.
Once a promising star in the KMT, Wu experienced a downturn in popularity after losing out on re-election as Kaohsiung mayor in 1998. Following this setback, he was axed from the KMT's decision-making body after he lost the central standing committee election in 2000.
Wu's cautiousness and reluctance to interact with party members made him a "lone bird" with little popularity within the KMT.
Many likened him to Ma after the KMT chairman appointed him to the position, as both had experienced problematic relationships with party members.
But unlike Ma, who insisted on adopting what he characterized as a "moderate path" and was criticized for lack of assertiveness, Wu was viewed as a radical deep-blue member of the hawkish faction.
Seeking assistance from a hard-liner, Ma acknowledged the reshuffle as an attempt to reform the party and a prelude to his presidential bid.
"The reshuffle was for the KMT, for the presidential election and for Taiwan, too," Ma said during the handover ceremony. "The nation has gone through a political, moral and financial crisis since the KMT lost power, but with the reshuffle, we hope to take the reins of power again."
Asked to comment on criticism of his problematic relations with other people, Wu denied being a "lone bird," arguing that he would not have won so many previous elections if he had been out of favor in the party.
On his takeover as secretary-general, Wu acknowledged that the position would be challenging but added that he was up to the task.
"It's a serious responsibility as well as a great opportunity and I thank chairman Ma for giving me this chance. I will spare no effort to assist chairman Ma in leading the party to power in 2008," he said.
While acknowledging Wu's integrity and experience as a legislator, mayor and county commissioner, political analysts remained skeptical about his ability to ensure Ma a smooth journey in his quest for the presidency.
"Compared to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Wu has no resources or connections in the legislature. He could end up becoming another caucus whip and Ma's ambassador in the legislature," Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), a professor at Tamkang University's Department of Public Administration, said.
Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華), a sociology professor at National Chengchi University, said Wu's lack of impressive achievements during his eight-year term as Kaohsiung mayor and failure to build friendships with fellow legislators made it difficult to expect too much of his potential as an assistant to Ma in the presidential election.
Analysts and legislators said Wu needs to be more flexible in order to repair the relationship between the pan-blue and pan-green camps in the legislature, as Ma is keen to make the KMT a responsible opposition party by having a better legislative performance.
"It's understandable that Ma appointed Wu. He's a native Taiwanese with rich political experience and Ma needs someone to carry out his policies in the legislature," Shih said.
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