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President Roh Moo-hyun has indicated that he will not accept the resignation of current Cabinet members until new ministers are formally appointed following confirmation hearings. President-elect Lee Myung-bak said he won’t accept the resignation of current Cabinet members until that time either. With this, a crisis of the new government being launched on Feb. 25 without a single minister can be avoided.
But it is simply ridiculous that the new president will have to work with the ministers of the past administration for up to a month. During that time, what will they discuss during Cabinet meetings and what will happen if they don’t hold the meetings? Another big question is just what are the minister designates going to do during that time? And the civil servants at individual ministries will have a tough time having to serve two masters.
We have to wonder if the government reform bill would have faced this much opposition if there were no general election planned for April. The president elect is aggressively pushing ahead as his way of asking the public to pass their judgment on the United New Democratic Party in April’s elections for obstructing the objectives of the new government. The UNDP is aggressively resisting to ask the public to pass its judgment on the arrogance of the Grand National Party during April’s elections. Lee is concerned that a compromise with the UNDP may lead to criticism that he watered down his pledge to create a small government. The UNDP is afraid of internal dissent for giving in if it compromises with Lee. Both sides are intent on fighting this to the death, but it’s just a way to win votes. It will be difficult for the UNDP to avoid criticism that its opposition to closing down the ministries of maritime affairs and fisheries and of gender equality and the Rural Development Administration is simply to win votes among women and fishing and farming people.
If this deadlock continues until election day, both sides will win some things and lose others. But chances are higher that the public will blame the UNDP for not letting the new government start its work. The party is said to be concerned about this as well.
The UNDP holds the key to solving this deadlock. The ridiculous situation of the new president having to work with outgoing ministers can be avoided if the party allows confirmation hearings to be held. The squabble over the government reform bill can continue after this. Each side may fear it will lose everything if it yields an inch. But politics and elections are all about winning the hearts of voters. The public is watching to see which side will yield and prevent a worst-case scenario. Both the president elect and the UNDP should seriously think about what actions will truly move the hearts of voters at this point.
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