President Roh Moo Hyun says he views the results of Thursday's National Assembly by-elections as having been a judgment on his performance as president. What he is saying is that he accepts the ruling Uri Party's disastrous performance as being entirely his responsibility. If he really means that, then naturally he has to be part of the solution. But it is another matter if his motivation is simply to prevent internal party instability by reaffirming his confidence in the party's leadership.
The prediction those in the political world are making is that Roh will outlines special plans for the rest of his term, plans that include a shakeup of the people who work for him, at the end of the year or the beginning of 2006. We will be watching to see what that entails, but what is clear is that the approach must not be one of political engineering. If he comes at it sideways it will only further the disorder and make popular sentiment move farther away from him. That was proven well enough with his calls for a "grand coalition government." The president needs to take a humble approach and come up with a radical prescription for what needs to be done, based on accurate diagnosis of the reasons the country is disappointed with his management of state affairs.
There also needs to be landmark changes in relations between Cheong Wa Dae and Uri Party. Within the ruling camp there has long been lots of talk about a separation of the ruling party and the government and "party-centered politics," but in fact the party has been scurrying around in pursuit of Cheong Wa Dae trying to figure out what its desires are. While Uri's leadership has been obsessed with honoring the desires of the president the rest of the party has been fragmenting and turning into a disorderly crowd. Uri needs to bring back the energy and dynamism and make the foundered mood there go away, and develop a posture that seeks to overcome the crisis on its own strength. It must not keep looking off towards Cheong Wa Dae hoping Roh will come up with some clever maneuvers to get out of the situation. There should be no need to emphasize the importance of firmly establishing the party's political identity and throwing all it has at completing the reform tasks that remain. There is no such thing as a skilled hand in politics. The popular sentiment that has abandoned the ruling party will return only when it firmly establishes its principles and the basics, and walks silently along the righteous path.
The Hankyoreh, 28 October 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Uri Must Not Wait for the President's Help |
