The leadership of the ruling Grand National Party and main opposition Democratic Party are caught up in a petty squabble over which party's approval rating is higher. The DP is claiming its approval rating is still higher than that of the GNP after it rose following former President's Roh Moo-hyun's death, while the GNP is arguing that a latest poll shows it has won back public support. The GNP wants to assert that the DP's rise in popularity following Roh's death has dissipated, while the DP wants to believe it still exists.   

It is only natural for a political party to be interested in approval ratings since they measure the confidence the public has in them. The public's support of a political party represents the public's evaluation of the legislative achievements of the party and the policies it pursues. However, until now, the GNP and DP have not been involved in any legislative activities and have not pursued any policies.

The only thing the GNP has done is to sit still, dazed as the public mourned Roh's suicide, while also getting caught up in an internal spat between lawmakers loyal to former party chairwoman Park Geun-hye and those supporting President Lee Myung-bak. And the only thing the DP has done is to take to the streets praising Roh after they witnessed the public outpouring of grief, despite the fact the opposition party had alienated the former president before his death. It is baffling to see both parties squabbling over which is more popular, considering the scant amount of work both have done so far.

The DP must be aware that the public will not mourn forever. If the opposition party continues to abandon its legislative duties and continues to brawl within the National Assembly, it will soon realize that the sudden surge in support it enjoyed is no longer there.

It also seems that the government and the GNP believe that public opinion will swing back in their favor once the atmosphere of grief ends. However, if the ruling party wastes its time on internal feuding, it will find itself alienated by voters during by-elections in October and local elections next year.