[Editorial] Roh-Chung Alliance Lacks Legitimacy

The newspaper thinks that the negotiation between Roh Moo-hyun, the presidential candidate of the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) and his counterpart Chung Mong-joon of the National Alliance 21 is moving in a wrong direction. As the newspaper already mentioned, fielding a single candidate between the two presidential runners is up to their decision and voters will determine whether their efforts are justifiable or not. But if the purpose of choosing a single candidate is to become the head of the state, then the two candidates should have made public why they are so eager to field a single candidate. In other words, they should at least produce the blue print and select the better-fit person to conduct the blueprint as a single candidate.

But there is no such a blueprint in the efforts to nominate a single candidate made by Roh and Chung. The only thing they focus on is who has a competitive edge over Lee Hoi-chang, the presidential candidate of the Grand National Party (GNP). That may be important matter for the two persons but for the public, it is only a secondary issue. What the public wants to know is how they can lead the nation if the alliance wins the presidential election. The public will be able to make an informed decision only when the two candidates clarify their blueprint.

Nothing is certain in their move after fielding a single candidacy. Are they going to integrate their parties? Or are they just going to form an alliance for the victory in the presidential election? It is very dangerous and irresponsible idea for them to snatch the victory at any cost. According to the parties, one who wins public surveys will be a presidential candidate and the other who loses will be the chairman of the election committee. That means that they would form a coalition with or without integrating their parties.

The prerequisite for the political coalition is power-sharing. But Roh and Chung are totally different from each other in term of ideology, identity and policy. As already witnessed in the coalition between President Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-pil, the chairman of the United Liberal Democrats, the power-sharing of two persons with different natures will only bring about confusion and inefficiency in running state affairs.

Now it is time for them to come up with countermeasures to minimize these expected side effects and to seek a public consensus. If they just intend to cover up these fundamental problems without trying to tackle the issues, their efforts for single candidacy cannot be justified.