Chung Dong Young has been chosen chairman of Uri Party, returning him to that position one year and eight months after he stepped down in January 2004. Back then he was there to see the party through a transitional phase, but this time he is a party chairman with real influence within the government and that is a noticeable difference. It means he has a heavier burden on his shoulders as well.
His immediate concerns are bringing the party together after the divisions made apparent during the recent convention and producing results in regional elections coming May 31. The day after winning the chairmanship he immediately went to the political "home garden" of Grand National Party (GNP) chairwoman Park Geun Hye and began trying to bring people like former justice minister Kang Geum Sil into the party as part of preparations for the campaign. You can understand his urgency, because if Uri suffers an election defeat once again he faces a dark future as party chairman and presidential hopeful.
There is, however, something that is more important, namely putting the party on track in terms of its platform and policies. Whether or not a political party wins the people's support depends not on how hardworking its members are but on whether its policies are consistent with the spirit of the era and social trends. Uri gets failing marks for its performance as a ruling party. It won a National Assembly majority in the last general election, but then it got nowhere on the "four major reform bills," such as the abolishment of the National Security Law, and disappointed the voters who supported it in the process. It slid all over the board on important policies such as disclosure of the cost of building apartments and sending troops to Iraq. President Roh Moo Hyun contributed to the destruction of the party's political identity with moves like his out-of-the-blue proposal regarding a coalition government.
The people cannot depend on a party that cannot get a hold of itself. If it has the right, consistent platform, popular sentiment will follow. Our concern is not Chung and Uri. We are only concerned because confusion in the ruling party directly leads to delays in national progress and pain for the people. We hope party members remember the confusion Uri has been causing the country.
The Hankyoreh, 20 February 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Chung Should Begin by Clarifying Uri's Platform |
