Former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) is now between a rock and a hard place after Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) announcement of her presidential bid yesterday.
In a reversal of the primaries last year, Tsai has taken the limelight, declaring her intention to run for the presidency in two days of whirlwind announcements, leaving Su to deal with the aftermath.
However, this time around there is no second-place finish. Su, 63, would have to go all in the battle and would have a tough time winning or finishing his political career with the bang he had wanted.
Photo: Hsieh Chia-chun, Taipei Times
“Tsai and Su, their polls are about equal and they both have their own supporters,” said Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief who took over as interim party leader yesterday. “If they cannot negotiate, it looks like they will have to finish the entire party primaries process.”
However, with Tsai’s high--profile declaration and media exposure yesterday, Su would be playing catch-up in a race that many party politicians are unwilling to see drawn out, against the backdrop of the devastating 2008 primaries.
On Thursday, party lawmakers issued remarks saying that they believed the issue of unity in the primaries was one of the most important the two would face.
The 2008 primaries caused problems that were “irreparable and still a sore wound,” one lawmaker said.
Tsai, party leader for the past three years, would also have the added advantage of support from pan-green politicians, many of whom credit her for turning the party around after the DPP was trounced in the 2008 presidential and legislative polls.
Pro-independence heavyweights, representing a significant chunk of the party vote, have gravitated toward Tsai in the past few days, when many were seen as originally supporting Su.
“Su Tseng-chang has made many contributions to Taiwan, but it looks like Tsai is more suited” to be president, said Su Beng (史明), the 93-year-old often called the “father of the Taiwanese independence movement.”
“For Taiwan’s interests and its future, Su [Tseng-chang] should consider withdrawing for Tsai,” he said.
However, Su Tseng-chang would have no easy way to back down, having made his intentions for president evident since he lost the race for Taipei City mayor in November.
Party observers said that his Eball Foundation, through which he has released a book and held a video tour, is a clear precursor to a campaign office and that he has continued to hire most of the staff from his failed November campaign.
All this couldn’t have come cheap, despite the NT$18 million (US$608,000) he received in vote subsidies, a third going to party coffers.
“It’s only a matter of time before Su Tseng-chang says he will run,” a source said.
In addition, he also maintains a significant following within the party that has given him added incentive to run, pointing to his more seasoned political record compared with Tsai, who has only run once and lost.
However, Su Tseng-chang continued to offer few hints as to his intentions.
“I’m still seriously thinking about it, and what I’m seriously thinking about is the big picture and what the public needs,” Su Tseng-chang said.
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