Mayoral elections show increase in support for DPP

Granted that large portions of swing votes were swung towards the KMT by the injuries former Vice President Lien Chan's son suffered in a Friday assassination attempt, it means the DPP could have even bigger potential in future elections.

Despite the defeat in Xinbei and Taichung, the DPP's strong performance in the two cities have actually come as a strong boost not only to the main opposition party, but also to its chairwoman, Tsai Ing-wen personally.

Tsai, who lost to KMT candidate Eric Chu in Xinbei by only about 110,000 votes, has further established her leadership firmly in the party and will now have strong claims to the DPP's candidacy in the 2012 presidential race.

Since taking over the helm of a party that slumped to the nadir in the 2008 presidential race, Tsai has since managed to guide it to victory in several local and national elections.

She has also steered the party towards a more centrist platform that avoids political ideologies — particularly those thorny issues centering around the possibility and necessity of Taiwan's independence. The shift has apparently convinced many neutral voters.

Tsai was tipped to be the DPP's candidate for the 2012 race when she accepted the challenge in Xinbei, raising doubts that she would not finish the four-year mayoral term if elected.

Her loss means that she will not have to face a difficult choice between staying on in the mayoral post and mounting a presidential bid.

The biggest surprise in yesterday's elections was DPP candidate Su Chia-chuan's strong showing in Taichung. He was defeated by only a slim margin to incumbent Mayor Jason Hu.

Su, who parachuted to a city where he was politically a complete stranger, would make a strong running mate for Tsai in the 2012 poll.

The strong performance of Tsai and Su has also marked a further power transition inside the DPP from its older-generation heavyweights to younger ones.

Former Premier Su Tseng-chang, a stalwart from the DPP's older generations, is another pretender to the presidency. But his heavy defeat to Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin has undermined his claims.

For the KMT, its runaway victory in Taipei should provide no basis for complacency. Its humiliating defeats in Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as its overall 44.52 percent of votes in all five cities against the DPP's 49.87 percent, serves a severe warning.

The KMT saw its vote shares in all five areas drop compared to the 2008 presidential race.

President Ma Ying-jeou had a comfortable win in the 2008 presidential poll. He was all out stumping for KMT candidates in the mayoral elections, which were seen as his mid-term test, but the results were not too favorable for him and his party.

Ma can expect to see a much tougher battle two years from now, compared to 2008.

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