KMT must select winnable battles

　　This news should have surprised many observers, as the county has long been considered a stronghold of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and polls show that the DPP candidate is leading his KMT rival by a wide margin.

It may be recalled that, a short while ago, President Ma Ying-jeou worked resolutely hard, to the point of putting his personal prestige on the line, to help former magistrate of Ilan County get reelected in campaigns for county and city chiefs, but his effort ended in failure because Ilan is regarded as the “Mecca of democracy” for the DPP, a “pan-green” stronghold. As a result, Ma, as well as the KMT, suffered a tremendous psychological setback.

After a series of defeats in recent legislative by-elections, the KMT cannot afford poor results in the Feb. 27 polls. The ruling party must map an effective strategy. For one thing, it should not repeat past mistakes by squandering resources in places where it has little chance of winning. Instead of sending Fan to fight a seemingly losing battle in Chiayi, they should consider putting the publicity genius in another closely contested area such as Taoyuan City or Hsinchu County, so that his assistance may make the expected difference to enable the KMT nominee to win the election. Both Taoyuan and Hsinchu are in northern Taiwan where the KMT and its allies are supposed to enjoy a political edge.

As in past several months, the election battle of Feb. 27 will probably be fought between a split KMT and a united DPP, particularly in Taoyuan and Hsinchu. Some have suggested that Ma visit the two places to display his utmost sincerity in trying to unify local “pan-blue” leaders behind the candidates fielded by the KMT. Only by deeply moving his own men can he expect to move the voters, these people say.

But, the most serious problem the KMT is facing now is the decreasing popularity of Ma, who used to be the party's No. 1 draw. Latest opinion surveys indicate his approval ratings continue to plunge. It appears everything is going against the president nowadays, including his endeavor to reform, his integrity, modesty, law-abiding spirit and proficiency in English — all of which have become targets of criticism. When his authority and prestige wane, so does his influence even among KMT members, with the result that a weakened party tends to lose elections. And when the KMT suffers one defeat after another, Ma, both as the president and the party chairman, will sustain further loss in stature. No one knows how and when he can break this vicious cycle.

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