Roh Must Stop the Brinkmanship
President Roh Moo Hyun keeps dropping bombs and each one seems to have greater intensity. Speaking recently about his call a coalition government, he shocked people by saying he would even "consider handing over power altogether." Now he is using extreme expressions such as "taking a backseat" and "shortening [his] term." Ruling Uri Party members of the National Assembly left a recent gathering at Cheong Wa Dae saying they felt "shocked," "frustrated," "dumbfounded," and that is what the majority of ordinary people in the country are feeling, too. President Roh of course included a clear condition for relinquishing authority, namely that there be "reform of the culture and structure of politics," but there is clearly concern spreading among the people that if things continue we might actually see the president's time in office cut short.
Watching the president obsessing with his ideas about a coalition government you are reminded of a prophet or person who predicts the future and is on fire with religious belief and passion. He is full of belief in his own inerrancy, a belief that there's absolutely no way his judgment could be wrong. There's no room for members of the ruling party or the general public to offer alternative views. Politicians and the people are just "lower-level students" who must learn to understand his lofty sermons and thereby be enlightened. It is terribly dangerous for a political leader to act like a soothsayer who is no longer part of the present, who does not walk on terra firma in the real world.
"Politics is the art of choice. If you measure my experience at making choices, I've achieved global senior elder status," says Roh. Maybe he's even right. What made him what he is today was the way he rushed the wall of regionalism with all he had, at risk of defeat, and because of his superb abilities at political bets, which surpassed the predictions of those who knew him. The problem is that Roh sees the past and the present as the same, and is hanging on to the same old brinkmanship tactics.
The road Roh once took is consistent with the course history has taken and with the will of the people. His election victory, therefore, was not a victory for him as an individual but a victory for history, a victory for the people. Now things are different. He talks about "sacrifice and difficult decisions," but many in the country are not finding it easy to be in agreement. Reforming Korea's political culture is an important task, but you wonder if it is so important that all other issues on the reform agenda should be abandoned to have the president give it the highest priority. Furthermore Roh is no longer just one man who has little to care about if he loses. You cannot use the presidency for gambles like when you say "oh well that didn't work out."
We call on the National Assembly. Start discussing in earnest issues such as the reorganization of electoral districts, regardless of the president's statements about a coalition government. External changes in the country's political structure are not all it's going to take to resolve regional confrontation, but whatever the case it's clear there needs to be improvement. Members of the Assembly need to negotiate on improving the system, emptying their hearts of private ambition as they go. Doing so will act to prevent even greater national misfortune.
Watching the president obsessing with his ideas about a coalition government you are reminded of a prophet or person who predicts the future and is on fire with religious belief and passion. He is full of belief in his own inerrancy, a belief that there's absolutely no way his judgment could be wrong. There's no room for members of the ruling party or the general public to offer alternative views. Politicians and the people are just "lower-level students" who must learn to understand his lofty sermons and thereby be enlightened. It is terribly dangerous for a political leader to act like a soothsayer who is no longer part of the present, who does not walk on terra firma in the real world.
"Politics is the art of choice. If you measure my experience at making choices, I've achieved global senior elder status," says Roh. Maybe he's even right. What made him what he is today was the way he rushed the wall of regionalism with all he had, at risk of defeat, and because of his superb abilities at political bets, which surpassed the predictions of those who knew him. The problem is that Roh sees the past and the present as the same, and is hanging on to the same old brinkmanship tactics.
The road Roh once took is consistent with the course history has taken and with the will of the people. His election victory, therefore, was not a victory for him as an individual but a victory for history, a victory for the people. Now things are different. He talks about "sacrifice and difficult decisions," but many in the country are not finding it easy to be in agreement. Reforming Korea's political culture is an important task, but you wonder if it is so important that all other issues on the reform agenda should be abandoned to have the president give it the highest priority. Furthermore Roh is no longer just one man who has little to care about if he loses. You cannot use the presidency for gambles like when you say "oh well that didn't work out."
We call on the National Assembly. Start discussing in earnest issues such as the reorganization of electoral districts, regardless of the president's statements about a coalition government. External changes in the country's political structure are not all it's going to take to resolve regional confrontation, but whatever the case it's clear there needs to be improvement. Members of the Assembly need to negotiate on improving the system, emptying their hearts of private ambition as they go. Doing so will act to prevent even greater national misfortune.
posted by Joa at
Thursday, September 01, 2005
