Five Keys to KMT Electoral Style Party Reform

Five Keys to KMT Electoral Style Party Reform
United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation 
February 2, 2015

Executive Summary: Eric Chu has taken over as KMT chairman. He has issued several major statements about the future of the party. Two of them are the most crucial. One. He has proposed a constitutional amendment to adopt the cabinet system for the nation. Two. He has proposed that the KMT undergo electoral style party reform. Chu said that "The chairman may be weak, but the party must be strong." This is his strategic vision. The "Cabinet System" and "electoral style party reform" are closely correlated.

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Eric Chu has taken over as KMT chairman. He has issued several major statements about the future of the party. Two of them are the most crucial. One. He has proposed a constitutional amendment to adopt the cabinet system for the nation. Two. He has proposed that the KMT undergo electoral style party reform. Chu said that "The chairman may be weak, but the party must be strong." This is his strategic vision. The "Cabinet System" and "electoral style party reform" are closely correlated.

Political science generally classifies political parties as either "electoral style" or "cadre style". In the former, political power originates in the legislature. It is the form that most democracies adopt. In the latter, political power originates in the party organization. This is known as the Leninist style. The century-old KMT has undergone repeated restructuring. Yet its organization remains firmly Leninist cadre style. Therefore if Eric Chu's vision for Kuomintang comes true, he won't merely have reformed the party, he will have transformed it.

Eric Chu has taken over as party chairman. He has since made several major decisions. He has decided to introduce a large number of elected representatives and local leaders who enjoy popular support. He has abolished the purely symbolic offices of Honorary Chairman and Vice-Chairman. He has abolished the Chung Shan Conference, which once served as a platform for party to government coordination. He has totally changed the role of think tanks. Chu clearly intends to proceed full speed with electoral style party reform, in step with cabinet system reform. Future decisions by the KMT may become collective leadership group decisions.

Political transformation, of course, is not easy. Can the KMT successfully transform itself into an elector al style party? To do so, it must master at least five keys. Key One. The party must strike a balance between being a party motivated by ideas and a party rooted in reality. In addition to electoral style parties and cadre style parties, there are also philosophically based political parties and brokered power based political parties. Most political parties in democracies belong to the latter category. But to distinguish themselves from other political parties on the ballot, political parties must still offer clear party platforms. Does the KMT wish to become an electoral style political party? If it does, then the policies it promotes must bow to political reality. Proposals have recently been made for lowering the threshold for political party subsidies. Eric Chu and Wang Jin-pyng have agreed to negotiate with the TSU using a “market price” model. In this model becomes the norm, whether the KMT is an opposition party or the ruling party will not matter. The line between it and other political parties will become increasingly blurred. The distinction between it and other political parties will become less and less significant. Take cross-Strait policy for example, the most significant distinction between the two largest political parties. Will the KMT be able to stand by its convictions? Or will it attempt to adopt the policies of other political parties? This will be one of the first challenges to confront the Kuomintang.

Key Two. Will the KMT be able to strike a balance between old and new forces and thinking? Take the recent reform of the National Think Tank, for example. There appears to be a consensus within the party for reform and the adoption of Eric Chu's policy path. But Chu faces many problems. They include what to do with the National Think Tank, how to assign authority. how to deal with local factions, how to deal with traditional political forces, and how to deal with awakened voters.

Key Three. How should the KMT handle the roles of the executive and legislative branches? Over the past seven years, the Kuomintang has been the ruling party. But the executive and legislative branches often clashed. This posed a major obstacle to Ma government administration. In the short term, a KMT undergoing electoral style party reform will not be able to cover both these sectors. Therefore the KMT party leadership must create a mechanism for coordinating major decisions.

Key Four. How will a KMT undergoing electoral style party reform reshuffle party personnel? Chu is currently implementing electoral style party reform. He is recruiting only elected officials who enjoy broad public support into the Party Central Committee. This of course is the right approach. But more importantly, he must see that party insiders to do more than hold party posts. They must also be ready to do battle by participating in elections, or serve as political appointees. In recent years Kuomintang elected officials, elected representatives, political appointees, and party workers were often members of different systems. During elections or cabinet reshuffles, they often played musical chairs. This obstructed the entry of new talent. Naturally this made attracting people with talent and ability difficult. This situation must change.

And finally, Key Five. How can the KMT avoid the problem of "players doubling as referees"? Once the party has completed electoral style party reform, those who wrote the nomination and campaigning rules may well seek to become candidates themselves. If demand exceeds supply, limited resources are likely to lead to controversy, criticism, and even infighting within the party. Preventive measures must be taken.  Time is limited. The rules of the game must be laid out in advance. This is urgent.

In all fairness, the KMT has gotten to the point where it has no choice but to reform. Electoral style party reform may not be enough to get this century-old party back in running order. But all of the major political parties on Taiwan are Leninist style political parties. Transforming the KMT into a truly democratic political party is still worthwhile. If these keys can be mastered, and the right remedy prescribed, the KMT just might be able to rise from the ashes.

國民黨「內造化」成敗的五個關鍵
2015-02-02 02:48:30 聯合報 社論

朱立倫接任國民黨主席後，對國民黨未來的發展有幾項重大宣示。其中最至關緊要者，其一是提出修憲朝內閣制修正，其二是國民黨的內造化方向。朱立倫曾說「主席最弱，但黨要最強」，可看出其戰略構想，「內閣制」和「國民黨內造化」有高度的關聯性。

政治學上一般將政黨分為「內造式」和「外造式」政黨，前者政黨的權力核心來自議會，是多數民主國家政黨的組成形式；後者權力核心來自政黨組織本身，又稱為列寧式政黨。百年老店的國民黨儘管經過多次轉型，組織上仍傾向後者；因此，朱立倫對國民黨未來轉型的構想一旦成真，將不僅僅是「改革」而已，而將是「轉骨」的大變動。

朱立倫接任主席後的若干重大決策，諸如黨內人事大量引進具有民意基礎的民代、地方首長，取消象徵性的榮譽主席、副主席職務，取消原本有黨政協調平台功能的「中山會報」，以及全面改造智庫功能等，在在顯示朱立倫確有意朝「內造化」構想推進。配合「內閣制」的主張，未來國民黨可能將由過去的一人決策，逐漸轉變為集體領導或群體決策。

然而，政黨「轉骨」並不容易，國民黨內造化要成功，至少必須掌握五大關鍵。第一個關鍵，是黨的理念與現實應如何取得平衡。除了「內造」、「外造」之外，政黨還有「理念型政黨」和「掮客型政黨」之分；雖說多數民主國家屬於後者，但要能在選票上與其他政黨有所區分，仍必須有清晰的政黨理念作後盾。國民黨要追求「內造化」，政策的推動恐必須更加遷就與現實的妥協。日前，在政黨補助門檻降低一事上，朱立倫和王金平同意與台聯以「市場喊價」模式取得的協商共識，就是一例。這種情況若成常態，國民黨無論作為在野黨或執政黨，政策主體性將越來越模糊，與其他政黨的區隔也將越來越少。放大到現今最大政黨區隔的兩岸政策領域，國民黨是否仍能有所堅持，或者能否提出其他面向的政黨理念取而代之，將是國民黨首先要面對的挑戰。

第二個關鍵，是如何平衡新舊勢力和思維。以最近國民智庫的改革為例，黨內對於朱立倫的改革方向似乎有一定共識；然而，未來較智庫處理問題更棘手的世代權力分配問題、地方派系問題，以及傳統政治勢力與新興選民覺醒的問題，是朱立倫勢必遇到的難關。

第三個關鍵，是國民黨在行政與立法部門間所扮演的角色如何拿捏。過去七年，國民黨雖是執政黨，但行政與立法部門的扞格時有所聞，並成為馬政府施政的一大障礙。短期內，國民黨內造化的範疇不可能完全囊括這兩大部門，因此如何在現有機制上提供一個協調重大決策制定的平台，也是國民黨中央無法迴避的問題。

第四項關鍵，是如何在內造化的過程中促成黨內人才的流動。目前朱立倫進行的內造化，僅止於吸納具有民意基礎者到黨中央任職；這固然是正確的作法，但更重要的，應該是讓黨內人才除了擔任黨職，也有隨時上戰場參與選舉、出任政務官的能力與準備。近年來的國民黨，民選首長、民代與政務官、黨工往往分屬不同體系，因此每遇選舉或者內閣改組，往往只是老面孔玩大風吹，人才流動管道受阻，當然難以吸引真正有能力或實力的人投入，這勢需改弦更張。

最後一項關鍵，是黨中央如何避免「球員兼裁判」的角色混淆。一旦徹底內造化，黨內提名和輔選的遊戲規則制訂者及執行者，很可能就同時身兼選舉的遊戲參與者。在僧多粥少、資源有限的情況下，稍有爭議，就很可能招致黨內批評甚至內鬥。防微杜漸，如何在有限的時間內，先將公平的遊戲規則訂出，刻不容緩。

平心而論，國民黨的沉痾確實已經到了不得不改革的地步，「內造化」的改革雖未必拖得動這部百年老車，但在國內各重要政黨都是「列寧式政黨」的情況下，國民黨嘗試帶頭成為真正的民主政黨，仍值得肯定。掌握了問題的關鍵，對症下藥，才是國民黨浴火重生的契機。