Ma Ying-jeou: Do Not Allow Talk of "Retreating to the Second Line" Bind You Hand and Feet

Ma Ying-jeou: Do Not Allow Talk of "Retreating to the Second Line" Bind You Hand and Feet
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
June 26, 2008

President Ma's comment that he has "retreated to the second line" has provoked considerable debate. What exactly is "retreating to the second line?" Have Ma's actions this past month been appropriate for a democratically elected president, as defined by the constitution? Put more simply, when Ma asks his financial and economic advisors "Why is the stock market falling without end?" are such expressions of concern consistent with "retreating to the second line?"

As everyone knows the stock market has fallen relentlessly ever since Ma assumed office. Investor losses can only be described as appalling. "Why is the stock market falling without end? is a question everyone ought to be asking. The only person who shouldn't be asking the question, at least not in public, is President Ma. After all, he is the one should be providing us with the answers. Although Ma has been in office for a full month, he has no idea why the stock market is falling without end. Yet he persists in commenting on matters that are none of his concern, such as whether rural primary schools should be eliminated, and whether Chuang Kuo-rong should keep his teaching post. Is this really the way to "retreat to the second line?"

True, President Ma is under the spotlight and in the hotseat. The slightest misstatement or misstep will invite a barrage of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" criticisms. But like it or not, President Ma must acknowledge a harsh reality. The people may support a president who respects his constitutional mandate. After all, Ma Ying-jeou received over 7 million votes. But they will not support a president who sticks his nose into matters that are none of his business, especially when he is still clueless about affairs of state one month after assuming office.

The past eight years of DPP misrule have provided the Republic of China with a valuable object lesson in how not to govern a nation. The KMT's return to power after a second change in ruling parties is providing the nation with another kind of lesson in constitutional rule. The key question is how will President Ma and the KMT define their roles during this process. Only a few comparisons are required to show how different the current political environment is from the past past eight years. During the eight years the DPP has been in power, a president elected by a plurality has presided over a minority government. Former President Chen never gave a damn about constitutional restraints on his power. He openly demeaned the constitution openly, in public. He expanded his powers without limit. He used and abused a string of Premiers. Outside observers concluded he was attempting to create an Imperial Presidency. Even more troublesome to Chen Shui-bian and the DPP was the opposition dominated legislature. Chen Shui-bian and the DPP were never willing to compromise or engage in dialogue. Instead they incited populist mob sentiment and butted heads with the opposition. The results were predictable. Eight years in office and nothing to show in the way of accomplishments. Its sole legacy? A negative example of how not to govern a nation.

Today's political landscape is the diametric opposite of what it was over the past eight years. We now have a majority President, and a ruling party that commands a supermajority in the legislature. Such an natural advantage gives President Ma an opportunity to realize his constitutional ideals. Ma Ying-jeou naturally cares more about the constitution than Chen Shui-bian. To him the constitution specifies a dual-leadership system. Therefore he does not want to encroach upon the powers of the Premier. Hence his declaration that he was "retreating to the second line."

Even more coincidentally, after Ma stepped down from the position of party chairman after being indicted by the Special Prosecutor in the Discretionary Fund case, Ma Ying-jeou had no intention of resuming his former role as party chairman. This has led to a situation never before seen under the old KMT: the sitting President is not simultaneously the Chairman of the KMT. This arrangement could be interpreted as Ma Ying-jeou's desire to be a "President to All the People." But this has already had immediate repercussions. The first is the president can no longer use the party machinery to mediate between competing departments. The second is that the party machinery tends to become a second arena in the struggle for power. To wit, recent speculation about whether Wang Jin-pyng, Chu Li-lun, or Wu Dun-yi will be the next party chairman.

President Ma has imposed "limits on himself" regarding relations between the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan. He has also "totally severed" relations between the Presidential Offic and the KMT. The result has been what we have seen over the past month. A cabinet consisting entirely of career civil servants and academics, confronted by a barrage of issues in the legislature, and local authorities fighting tooth and nail over resources, finds itself at a complete loss about what to do next. Conversely, the KMT legislative caucus is using the opportunity to expand its power. Ma nearly lost control over the Diaoyutai Islands ramming incident. He even hoped to personally participate in cross-strait talks. Nominees for the Examination Yuan and the Control Yuan floated rumors and made threats. The result was every time President Ma came forward, the situation descended into chaos.

If the above phenomena, become the norm, one can safely predict that under President Ma the executive branch will become weaker and weaker. The legislative branch, given President Ma's forbearance, will become more and more presumptuous. The result will the undermining of President Ma's authority and leadership, and something akin to the Democratic Progressive Party's total loss of control. If this happens, President Ma's ratings will plummet a second time. Fortunately it is only one month into his term. He still has a chance to make changes. Having controversial issues come to a head earlier rather than later is not necessarily a bad thing. What matters is how President Ma uses his presidential mandate to define his role. That role has to be more than "retreating to the second line."

中時電子報
中國時報 　2008.06.26
別讓「退居第二線」之說自縛手腳
中時社論

　馬總統的「退居第二線」說，最近成了部分論者議論的話題。究竟什麼是「退居第二線」？馬總統這一個月的作為，是不是就是現行憲政體制下民選總統應有的角色？如果用更淺顯的方式追問，馬總統日前曾詢問財經首長：「股市為何會一直跌？」，這種關切是不是就叫做「退居第二線」？

　其實誰都知道，股市從「馬上」之後，就一直跌跌不休到現在，投資民眾虧損掉的資產，恐怕用慘不忍睹差堪形容，「股市為何會一直跌？」其實該是所有民眾的疑問，不該是馬總統的疑問，畢竟此刻該是他處理問題的時候，不是嗎？如果就任了一個月，對股市為何持續崩跌這般重大事務還不能清楚掌握，卻對一些根本輪不到他管的事，如鄉間小學要不要廢校，莊國榮該不該保有教職等事「說得太多」，就是所謂「退居第二線」的理想模式？

　沒有錯，此刻馬總統是一切聚光燈的焦點，他言行上任何的「過猶不及」，都會陷入父子騎驢的困境，但不論馬總統喜歡與否，他都必須承認一個現實，民眾或許支持他們的總統謹守憲政職權分際，但恐怕並不期待他們用七百多萬票選出的總統，就任一個月後還對許多政務未進入狀況，卻老愛管些其實不需要他過問的事！

　如果說民進黨過去八年的執政經驗，為台灣的憲政體制提供一種實踐模式，那麼二次政黨輪替後國民黨截至目前的執政形式，也是在實踐另一種憲政運作的模式，這中間馬總統與國民黨怎麼透過自我的實踐來詮釋其角色，顯然居關鍵位置。畢竟稍加對照，就可以發現目前的政治生態，與過去八年有多大的不同。民進黨執政八年一直無法掙脫的現實是：一位相對多數的總統，搭配著朝小野大的國會。陳前總統任內從不在意憲法對總統職權的制約，甚至經常公開輕賤這部憲法，他自己藉由「權力極大化」的操作模式，不僅損耗掉好幾位閣揆，更被外界批為是在操作「超總統制」。更麻煩的是面對在野居多數的國會，陳水扁與民進黨從不願選擇妥協對話，而是不斷藉由民粹動員擴大對抗，結果可想而知，八年的政績不僅乏善可陳，憲政運作模式更是標準的負面教材。

　如今的政治生態與過去八年完全相反，一個過半多數的總統，搭配的是執政黨席次居安全多數的國會，這種結構上的優勢，讓馬總統有更大的空間去實踐其理想中的憲政角色。馬英九當然比陳水扁更在乎這部憲法，他認知這部憲法是所謂雙首長制，所以他特別不想造成對閣揆的掣肘，所以「退居第二線」的說法就這樣出現了。

　更湊巧的是，為了首長特別費被檢察官起訴，馬英九從黨主席位置退下來之後，就無意再回鍋，這就出現了連舊國民黨都未曾見過的情況：總統不兼黨主席。儘管此一安排可以解釋成是馬英九要做「全民總統」，但若干效應已立即顯現：首先就是總統再也無法藉由政黨的平台，直接對各個部門間的競合關係介入協調；其次就是黨機器本身自主地成為權力競逐的平台，最近從王金平、朱立倫到吳敦義相繼被扯上接任黨主席的話題即是明證。

　當馬總統在府院關係上「自我設限」，又在府黨關係上「完全切割」，於是我們在過去一個月就看到了下列的畫面：一個全由技術官僚與學者為主體所組成的內閣團隊，面對國會綿密的議題攻勢，以及地方諸侯搶食資源的拉扯，表現的是完全手足無措；另一方面立院的執政黨團卻在伺機膨脹權力，不僅一度讓釣魚台島撞船事件差點無法收拾，還想上桌參與兩岸談判，對考、監兩院的提名人選更是放言威脅，結果弄到每回馬總統出面的時候，都是局面近乎陷入紛亂的時候。

　如果上述的現象，將在未來變成常態，那麼幾乎可以預期，行政部門在馬總統的自制下將越來越弱不禁風，立法部門也會在馬總統的客氣下更形囂張，最後就是馬總統的領導威信一路折損，形成不同於民進黨執政時期的另一種「治理失能」，真要演成此一狀況，馬總統的民間聲望再往下挫，也就不令人意外了。好在目前只是就職剛滿月，調整的空間還很大，相關爭議提前引爆也不是壞事，重點還是馬總統未來怎麼藉由職權實踐詮釋他的角色，至少不該只是「退居第二線」這句話吧！