 |
|
Opposition Leader Park after 5.31 victory.(yonhap)
|
Presidential nominees to battle it out at party convention
After scoring an overwhelming victory in the May 31 local elections, the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) now prepares for its national party convention, slated for July, at which members will choose new leadership and competition among the party’s presidential hopefuls is expected to become heated. Rep. Huh Tae-yeol, the GNP’s secretary-general, echoed the breakneck speed with which the party is pressing forward. "After the regional elections, we should concentrate on the national convention." Considering how much has to be done, he said, "the preparatory committee will have to be formed next week."The leadership that will manage candidates’ competition for the presidential election will be chosen at the national convention. As such, the convention is expected to become a ’proxy war’ among presidential hopefuls. In order to prepare for the presidential race, Rep. Park Geun-hye, current chair of the GNP, will resign from her post, along with GNP members Lee Myung-bak, currently Seoul mayor, and Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu. However, some observers noted that these presidential hopefuls will not begin a full frontal confrontation at the national convention, as the dominant opinion within the party merits a politically neutral figure for the presidency, in order to prevent party fractioning and to back a more likely candidate for victory. Mr. Huh stressed, "We want to avoid rifts within the party, and we should avoid weakening the competitive power of [the future GNP] presidential candidate at the national convention." As for future party chair, younger GNP lawmakers are mentioning outside figures such as Park Se-il, former chief policymaker, and Yoon Yeo-joon, former lawmaker and GNP’s top strategist. The choices represent the drive by younger members to maintain an atmosphere of continuous party reform. As well, because younger politicians played significant roles in decisive victories in the local elections, their status in the party has been enhanced. Consequently, there is growing anticipation about which choices the ’young generation’ of the GNP will make at the national convention. In the meantime, though the ruling Uri Party has been discussing political realignment via a possible merger with other parties, as well as amending the constitution to more evenly distribute terms of office for legislature and the presidency, among other proposals, these discussions will not bear serious influence on the GNP in the near future, given the broadness of that party’s election-day sweep. GNP Rep. Park Geun-hye, Mayor Lee Myung-bak and Rep. Lee Jae-oh, floor leader of the GNP, are, naturally, opposed to discussing the constitutional reform or political realignment during the current administration’s term. Political observers find it hard to predict South Korea’s immediate political future. At the national convention, if any one faction in the GNP dominates or if there is a skirmish among presidential hopefuls, new variables within the party may emerge, observers said. Or, if an ’anti-GNP alliance’ is organized by the ruling camp along with other reformist parties or forces, the GNP may also attempt to create its own coalition with other political factions and New Right forces, the observers said.
