Will MDP change after national convention?

The ruling Millennium Democratic Party, which has suffered an extreme criticism that it is a subsidiary of Chong Wa Dae, took the first step toward the normalization of it in an autonomous system through the national convention on Wednesday.

Party officials said that the fact that the leadership was chosen through an open competition for the first time in the nation¡¯s ruling party history is itself an evidence to the change of the party. Party Chairman Suh Young-Hoon showed a strong will to make his own voice first among others.

It seems that the party will discard a considerable part of the old-fashioned practice of the past when it almost wholly relied on the instruction by President Kim Dae-Jung. The elected Supreme Council members whose two-year tenure is guaranteed are expected to be striving ceaselessly to have the people recognize them. The possibility is high for potential presidential candidates like Rhee In-Je to embark on their march toward the presidency in a full swing not before long. These factors will combine to help the party secure an autonomy to a considerable extent in the future, according to a general prospect of political observers.

It seems that the paradigm operating the party will change itself with the realignment of the intra-party hierarchy through the open competition. It is an open secret that the MDP has been operated by the single Donggyo-dong faction led by Kwon Roh-Kap, a Supreme Council member, which seizes the party organization and general affairs management.

However, as Hahn Hwa-Kap, a Supreme Council member, secured his independent base (through the open contest), the intra-party situation is certain to change. Hahn does not have the meaning of a simple member of the Supreme Council. He forms a solidarity with other Supreme Council members like Kim Choong-Kwon and Kim Keun-Tae. Chairman Suh Young-Hoon also seems to be close to Hahn. In contrast, Kwon Roh-Kap actually is in a solidarity with Rhee In-Je. Therefore, it is well anticipated that the two solidarities will engage in fierce competition to increase their intra-party force and many party members will watch the development of the situation to decide to support which side. In light of the past practice as an opposition party, the usual party affairs such as the appointment of low-level party post holders are mostly likely to be operated under the influence of the two forces, who will seek to take their shares.

From two different aspects, some party members are concerned about possible ill effects. Since the aftermath of the emotional fighting in the course of the open competition is not that trifle, too many cooks may spoil the broth in case more than 10 Supreme Council members and the two solidarities are engaged in a bitter tug-of-war over the party hegemony, they said.

As the preliminary presidential candidates had already kicked off a struggle to increase their respective intra-party force in the course of the open competition, there could be an analysis that President Kim may become a lame duck earlier than expected. The potential candidates claim that none of them will dare do action to prompt the lame duck phenomenon with more than two years of tenure still left. But a strong view is formidable that it would be difficult for Chong Wa Dae to curb unilaterally the activities of the runners for the next presidency.