Ma must regain public confidence

These findings should be considered as quite an accurate reflection of the public’s perception of the current administration. In fact, irrespective of all shortcomings regarding Ma’s leadership ability and worsening global financial and economic woes, it is still hard for most people to believe that the current domestic situation in Taiwan under Ma — a decent and intelligent scholar-turned-politician who served eight years as mayor of the largest city in Taiwan — could be as bad as can be witnessed today.

Take the recent performance of the stock market, for example. Why did even direct cross-strait flights starting in July and the latest visit of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), who signed several important agreements with Taipei, fail to give a perceptible boost to the stock market index?

Here, Ma and his team must undergo a profound self-examination about the loss of public confidence in their ability to rule the country, which was largely a matter of their own making. As polls indicated, the public still believes Ma has the ability to lead the nation. The president must highly treasure this sentiment and make the best use of it. Several suggestions are offered in an effort to help.

1. Avoid any more serious gaffes by high government officials. Here one cannot but help singling out the finance minister, who made several — not just one — misstatements that were so ridiculous and irresponsible as to enormously damage the credibility of an already unpopular Ma administration. In fact, he should be the first Cabinet member to go in the much talked-about reshuffling, no matter how good his past record in public service.

2. The current government must make great efforts to do a few things, as soon as possible, that will win wide public acclaim. Here, short-term results are very important because they will boost Ma’s popularity and sustain the progress of his administration.

3. Ma must strive to assert his authority as the nation’s supreme leader. It is not difficult to understand that as a decent person with a rational mind and congenial personality, he will easily forgive his subordinates for their misbehavior. But, in hard politics, sometimes it is necessary for a leader to punish some people, such as his close aides, even when lacking sufficient reasons, in order to demonstrate his prestige and authority to others.

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