Kim Han Gil has been elected Uri Party's new floor leader, and now that the ruling and main opposition parties have finished putting together their floor leadership teams there is at least an official channel for dialogue. Kim has a lot of work waiting for his attention, but his first priority will be to put the National Assembly back on course by resolving the current confrontation between the two parties. Getting his party out of the slump it is in and rebuilding the relationship between it and Cheong Wa Dae come second. Uri desperately wants to regain the confidence and support of the people, but that will be hard to do without bringing normalcy to the National Assembly.
It is fortunate that the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) has expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue now that Uri has settled on a new floor leader. GNP floor leader Lee Jae Oh says he personally wants to meet Kim "immediately" to "begin talking about re-revising the Private School Law." We see that as a good start. Granted, getting the National Assembly back to normal will not be as easy as it sounds. Uri wants the GNP to first end its boycott of parliamentary activities before there is any renegotiation of the Private School Law, and the GNP wants it the other way around, so that impasse becomes the issue about which Kim needs to demonstrate his skills as floor leader. Kim is known for his skills as a strategic problem solver, so one hopes to see him come up with a plan to turn things around and be persuasive with the opposition.
It takes more than the desires of just half of the Assembly to get it working properly again. It takes two hands to clap. Both sides will eventually find common ground once they meet and engage in frank conversation. Politics is an organism, and lifelessness equals death. As with other forms of life, flexibility is a sign that politics is alive and well. What is needed most is an open mind and a readiness to give ear to what the other side is saying. One hopes the two new floor leaders will reflect deeply on the aphorism, "When two hands are stretched they are opposite extremes, but when pressed together they assume a supplicatory posture.
The Hankyoreh, 25 January 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Get Nat'l Assembly Back to Business |
