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The outcome of the by-elections last Wednesday has left conservatives outside the main opposition Grand National Party in a serious dilemma. They feel a sense of crisis that it is no longer safe to put their hopes on the structure crystallizing around presidential frontrunners Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.
Although the GNP's approval ratings are falling after the by-elections, a recent poll shows no big change in the popularity ratings of the so-called "Big Two.¡± But we should also take note that the people are sick and tired of what the GNP and its top presidential contenders are doing. This was the message of the voters in the April 25 by-elections. Now is the time for the conservatives outside the GNP, who hope so much to end the leftwing government, to give the GNP a shock of change and innovation while its contenders are engaged in a muckraking competition.
To do that, the entire presidential campaign by the conservatives has to become more dynamic and dramatic. The GNP, which would otherwise have degenerated into complacency, must be lashed into fresh exertion. Unless that happens, the GNP will be unable to deal with the big surprises the Left is planning to spring, and that could fatally damage the campaign for Korea¡¯s revival.
To prevent that, conservatives must give serious thought to whether it is possible to build a third independent force other than the current GNP and its key presidential contenders. Synergistic effects from such a new independent variable could raise the conservative campaign to a higher level. It could even allow the GNP to change the pre-primary atmosphere from a dirty war to a lively festival.
If we succeed in creating such a dynamic atmosphere of competition, we could also improve the campaign topics for the 2007 presidential election from grand canal (Lee's campaign promise) or train ferry (Park's) to issues that are crucial to the fate of the country. In the GNP, both sides have been so busy mudslinging that they have brought up none of these key issues, including a nuclear-armed Kim Jong-il. Far from recognizing such a grave threat as the main enemy, they are engaged in a dishonorable fight where the main enemy is within the party. As if trying to compensate, they are hawking an economy-first principle for all it¡¯s worth.
Of course, the economy is important and the national economy is in so serious a situation that it might even be called a priority. But surely South Korea¡¯s security is even more serious. This notwithstanding, the GNP continues a nonsensical debate on whether to succeed to the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun Sunshine Policy, talking only about a wholesale revision of its North Korea policy, or even of deleting the provision that makes North Korea part of the Republic of Korea¡¯s territory from the Constitution. Whom is the GNP fighting here?
Conservatives outside the GNP must make it clear that they are no longer a rubber stamp for the party, regardless whether it is involved in corruption, or takes the wrong views and commits errors of political judgment. They should proudly declare that they are willing to emerge as a third force, on the premise that they hope ultimately to produce a unified presidential candidate -- but not before the agenda has shifted their way, and on the proviso that they will take extreme measures and strike out on their own if need be.
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