Taro Aso, newly elected president of
Japan's ruling Liberal democratic Party (LDP), attends a news conference
after his election in Tokyo, capital of Japan, Sept. 22, 2008. Taro Aso
was elected LDP's party chief on Monday. (Chinese media/Ren
Zhenglai)
Photo
Gallery
BEIJING, Sept. 24 -- Now is a critical time for the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Taro Aso, the newly elected party president,
needs to get serious and face up to important issues in a speedy and bold
manner.
Aso scored an overwhelming victory in Monday's party
leadership election to become the 23rd LDP president, defeating four other
candidates -Kaoru Yosano, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal
policy; Yuriko Koike, former defense minister; Nobuteru Ishihara, former
chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council; and Shigeru Ishiba, former defense
minister.
Aso is set to be named prime minister at an
extraordinary Diet session that convenes today.
Aso's grandfather is Shigeru Yoshida, who served as
prime minister for a number of years just after World War II.
The prime minister's post has most recently been held
by scions of political dynasties, Yasuo Fukuda and Shinzo Abe, both of whom
abruptly resigned. Aso needs to demonstrate his strong sense of responsibility
and staying power.
Why did Aso defeat the other four candidates by such
a big margin?
This was the fourth time for Aso to run for party
president. Having his own small faction as a stronghold, Aso gained support from
members of all of the party's factions as he went through three campaigns for
the party's top post since 2006.
His upbeat and unique character attracted popular
support. In recent opinion polls, Aso was ranked as the person most suitable for
the prime minister's post.
Party members are pinning their hopes on Aso as the
face of the party with the dissolution of the House of Representatives and a
general election expected soon.
Unlike Fukuda, who lacked the ability to convey
strong messages, Aso was evaluated highly for his communication skills.
Many LDP Diet members and local chapter
representatives decided to support Aso in the hopes of being on the winning
side. As the cases of Abe and Fukuda showed, however, an overwhelming victory in
a party race does not necessarily mean the winner can expect stable support from
party members.
In appointing four main party executives, Aso
retained incumbents in three of the four posts. For the post of party
secretary-general that he previously occupied, Aso picked Hiroyuki Hosoda,
acting secretary-general of the party. By retaining the previous executive
lineup, Aso appears to be trying to ensure a smooth transition.
Having elected Aso as party president, LDP lawmakers
have a responsibility to support the new leader by building party unity.
The relationship with the LDP's junior coalition
partner New Komeito is also important. The ruling parties' relationship soured
in the final days of the Fukuda administration over such issues as a bill to
revise the new Anti-Terrorism Law to allow the Maritime Self-Defense Force to
continue its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and envisaged fixed-sum tax
breaks.
It is necessary to strengthen the relationship with
New Komeito to foster cooperation in the next lower house election. Reconfirming
the two parties' ties is an urgent task for Aso.
Aso faces mounting problems. In the midst of the LDP
presidential election, US financial giant Lehman Brothers Inc failed and stock
prices violently fluctuated worldwide. Uncertainty over the economy has been
growing due to commodity price hikes pushed by surging prices for raw materials.
The problem of illegal trade in agricultural
chemical- and mold-tainted rice has expanded and developed to the point that the
agriculture minister and the administrative vice-farm minister resigned.
All of these are serious problems.
Aso, after he is named prime minister today, has to
pick people who are trustworthy and immediately respond to such difficult issues
in forming his cabinet.
Yet, to fulfill his responsibility as LDP president,
Aso's most basic task is to lead the LDP to victory over Ichiro Ozawa's
Democratic Party of Japan in the next lower house election.
Aso had been labeling the LDP presidential race as an
election to choose a "warrior" to face off against Ozawa. Immediately after he
was elected the new LDP head, he emphasized: "I'll be able to say I fulfilled my
destiny when we win in the next (lower house) election."
The lower house election, termed the Aso versus Ozawa
election, will be a battle to determine the next ruling party. It will be fought
on the basis of which party's policies are real and which are false.
In the LDP presidential race the five candidates
debated various issues, which in some ways served as preparation for policy
debate with the DPJ in the election.
However, there are quite a few issues that were not
satisfactorily discussed.
For instance, how should the government fund its plan
to take on a greater portion of the burden of paying basic pension benefits from
fiscal 2009?
Raising the consumption tax rate may not be possible
for the next fiscal year, but is it acceptable for the ruling party not to
discuss the issue at all for now?
Doesn't the LDP have to show at least a blueprint for
drastic reform of the pension, health care and nursing care systems to cope with
the declining birth rate, aging society and declining population?
As LDP president, Aso must provide a concrete and
comprehensible answer for each of these questions.
Aso's unique characteristics will not shine if he
repeats mealy mouthed remarks out of an excessive fear of being nailed down on
undesirable pledges.
As a national leader he needs to elucidate his policy
goals and explain how he will achieve them.
(Source: China Daily)
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