Ma Ying-jeou's Million Vote Wake Up Call

Ma Ying-jeou's Million Vote Wake Up Call
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
January 20, 2011

Summary: The recently concluded general election was a stormy process. Ma Ying-jeou had the advantage of the incumbency, Nevertheless his race against Tsai Ing-wen was closely fought. President Ma surely must have thought long and hard about why. Now he has been reelected. But President Ma received nearly 800,000 votes fewer than he did the first time. His lead shrunk by over one million votes. This was a wake up call that he must keep in mind. He must listen to others' heartfelt advice and make the necessary changes. Only then can he avoid repeating the same mistakes.

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The recently concluded general election was a stormy process. Ma Ying-jeou had the advantage of the incumbency, Nevertheless his race against Tsai Ing-wen was closely fought. President Ma surely must have thought long and hard about why. Now he has been reelected. But President Ma received nearly 800,000 votes fewer than he did the first time. His lead shrunk by over one million votes. This was a wake up call that he must keep in mind. He must listen to others' heartfelt advice and make the necessary changes. Only then can he avoid repeating the same mistakes.

President Ma has certain strengths. He is an individual of integrity. He has done an outstanding job of maintaining cross-Strait peace, and upholding the public image of the President of the Republic of China. These are among the many reasons for his election victory. He has been reaffirmed by the voters. On the other hand, the Ma administration mishandled domestic issues. It left people the impression that it is slow to respond. This includes the pace of economic development. social policy, even its handling of individual cases. Sometimes it was indecisive. At other times it affected bureaucratic airs. This provoked public discontent. These are public grievances for which Ma Ying-jeou must accept unconditional responsibility.

The discrepancy between the Ma administration's governance internally vs. externally is the result of two problems. One. President Ma has not made the best use of the human talent available to him. Two. President Ma is often tone-deaf and color-blind. Regarding problem number one, the consensus is that the Ma administration is too inbred, too incestuous, hence too narrow in its vision. This leads to policy-making blind spots. To correct this problem, the cabinet must be reshuffled. Problem number two is Ma Ying-jeou's personal limitations resulting from his development as an individual. Some feel he lacks empathy for others. His manner is stiff. He is preoccupied with humility and moderation. As a result his cabinet was unable to exercise the necessary initiative. His administration conveyed the impression that it lacked drive and creativity. These shortcomings undermined his personal image and hurt his reelection prospects. These are problems he must address during his second term in office.

In short, during President Ma's first term, society was immersed in a "post-Chen" atmosphere. The number one concern was fighting corruption. Therefore President Ma's preoccupation with personal integrity was understandable. But when assessing a head of state, personal integrity is merely a baseline. It is a necessary but not sufficient condition for good governance. President Ma must offer a more comprehensive, effective, and forward-looking strategy for national governance. Only then can he meet the public's expectations. Ma's first four year term was all about "healing" and "recuperation." President Ma used the time to put Taiwan back on track. During the next four years, he must set higher goals. This includes advancing a national vision, healing the "ethnic" (communal) rifts, and establishing a more equitable society. This will enable Taiwan to emerge from political wheel-spinning and realize its collective goal of national transformation. These are not goals that empty slogans such as "Create a Golden Decade" can communicate.

A new vision is clearly not something the Ma administration can achieve during its remaining time in office. Therefore, in addition to reshuffling his cabinet, President Ma must seek people of talent and virtue in the larger community. He must recruit more people of talent and virtue to act as his eyes and ears and his strategic advisors. This task is no less important that talking with leaders of the opposition every six months or so. More importantly, President Ma must confer the necessary authority and resources upon these experts. This will enable them to do their job, and spare him the need to personally attend to everything. Ma is a head of state. He must focus on the vital task of overall system management. He must not allow himself to become bogged down in administrative details. This requires inevitable trade-offs. Over the past three years, Ma Ying-jeou has made a Herculean effort to demonstrate his proficiency in all matters large and small. But he merely left the public with the impression that he is preoccupied with trivialities, that he lacks the stature and charisma appropriate to a head of state. This is a lesson he must learn.

The dust from the election has now settled. President Ma faces a new situation. In some respects, the situation is favorable. He still retains the support of over half the electorate. His party still commands a clear majority in the legislature. This will enable him to promote his policies. His policy of cross-Strait reconciliation has been vetted by the citizenry. He can cast aside the label of "selling out Taiwan" that Taiwan independence extremists attempted to attach to him. In other respects, the situation is unfavorable. Taiwan's north-south divide is increasingly evident. Blue vs. Green confrontation remains serious. Social inequality is increasing. All these problems are more serious than they were before. The European debt crisis and the sluggish world economy will make Taiwan's economic recovery more difficult. In addition, President Ma himself may be exempt from election pressures, But the situation within the Blue Camp remains unclear. Reform within the KMT still has a long way to go. These burdens allow little time for relaxation.

President Ma won a tense and hard fought race. He won public approval for a second term. But he also revealed his character flaws through his leadership style. Some have accused Ma Ying-jeou of "fear mongering" during the election campaign. The opposite is true. President Ma was far too low-keyed, far too defensive. This was the main reason for his diminished personal charisma. In particular, he persisted in repeating the same details over and over again. He left voters with the impression that he was long-winded, that he lacked vision, and that he was insulting people's intelligence. During his second term, he can continue reaching out to the public. But no matter what, he must reestablish his stature as a national leader.

We do not know whether President Ma wrote a concession speech before the votes were counted. But voters are fickle. He must remain humble and alert. That will be the key to success over the next four years.

百萬選民給馬英九的棒喝
【聯合報╱社論】 2012.01.20

這次大選過程驚濤駭浪，馬英九以現任元首的優勢，和蔡英文打到如此膠著，想必馬總統亦曾輾轉反側苦思其間原由。如今成功連任，但馬總統得票減少近八十萬票，領先票數更大跌一百多萬；對於這記當頭棒喝，他必須保持戒懼、聽取忠告並改變作為，才不致重蹈覆轍。

馬總統的長處，除了個人操守清廉，在維持兩岸和平及經營台灣總體形象上，也都明顯勝出，帶給台灣安定感和光榮感。從選舉結果看，這也是他得分的主要項目，受到選民肯定。相形之下，馬政府處理內政問題，則給人因應遲緩的感覺：包括財經發展的步調、社會政策的調整，乃至個別突發事件的處理，有時缺乏決斷，有時流於僚氣，引發民眾不滿。這也是馬英九必須概括承受的民怨。

對內及對外治理的落差，一則出在用人的未盡妥適，二則與馬總統個人的關切與風格有關。前者，外界普遍認為馬團隊核心決策圈太過窄促，同質性也太高，導致施政出現盲點而不自知；這點，有待內閣積極調整。後者，則因馬英九個人成長經驗的侷限，使他對社會某些角落或階層的同理心不足。加上其性格拘謹，過度強調謙抑與節制，導致團隊不敢放手施為，而顯得積極性、開創性不足。這些缺憾，都削弱了他個人的政治魅力，也拖累了選情，這是他第二任必須改善的工程。

簡言之，馬總統的第一屆任期，因社會正處於「後扁」的反貪腐氛圍，他特別強調個人操守，不難理解。但檢驗一個元首，個人「修身」畢竟只是最基本的一環；馬總統勢需拿出更全盤、更有效和更前瞻的「治國」方略，才能滿足民眾的期待。如果把首任四年定位為「療傷」和「調養」階段，馬總統把台灣的運轉帶回正常軌道；接下來的四年，應該定出更高的目標，包括國家願景的設定、族群裂痕的弭合、均衡社會的追求等，讓台灣從廿年的政治虛耗向有集體目標的國家轉型。這些，均非「打造黃金十年」那樣空泛的口號所能表達。

新願景的建立及推動，顯然不是馬政府現有團隊所能完成；因此，馬總統除了要慎思新內閣的布局，更要擴大向社會覓才、問賢的管道，讓更多賢德之士充當他的耳目和軍師。此一工作的重要性，絕不亞於每半年和在野黨領袖晤談。更重要的是，馬總統要將權力和資源任務托付給不同領域的專家來執行，而不必凡事躬親。身為元首，若不能提綱挈領統管大局，而陷入事務性的細節，最後必然顧此失彼。過去三年多，馬英九的鉅細靡遺，旨在表現他的熟練，卻讓民眾感到瑣碎，少了元首的高度及魅力。這是必須記取的教訓。

隨著大選底定，馬總統面對的是一番新形勢：從有利的面向看，他仍擁有過半選民的支持，在國會也仍掌握絕對優勢，這有利政策的推動。他的兩岸和解政策，通過了公民的驗收，他頭上的「賣台」標籤可以撕掉。從不利的面向看，台灣的南北分化日益明顯，藍綠對峙依然嚴重，社會貧富差距則愈發擴大，這都較以往棘手。而歐債危機及世界經濟的遲滯，也會加重台灣經濟復甦的壓力。此外，馬總統本人雖已無連任壓力，但藍軍內部接班形勢不明，國民黨內改革也還有長路要走，這些擔子一點都沒有輕鬆的餘地。

馬總統這場選舉，贏得驚險；他獲得了民眾的再度付託，卻也暴露他性格和領導風格上的缺陷。有人指責馬英九在選戰中「販賣恐懼」，事實正好相反，馬總統過度低調、過度辯解，才是他魅力流失的主因。尤其他喜歡再三反覆同一細節，讓選民覺得囉嗦與平庸，是在冒犯人民的智慧。在第二屆任期，他可以繼續追求親民，但無論如何必須把領導者的高度建立起來。

我們不知道馬總統在開票前是否曾預寫「落選感言」，但隨時保持那一刻對民心善變的敬畏和戒慎，將是未來四年成功之鑰。