[Editorial] What’s Happening to the Grand National Party?

What is happening to the Grand National Party (GNP) these days? All we hear about the number one opposition party is merely based on sources from its dinner party and some mockery within itself that it is “obsessed with health,” and nothing more. In the same aspect, there needs to be less fuss in the media about GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye’s “nationwide tour to reach closer to the people,” which she is competitively carrying out to outrun the ruling party

As a major opposition party with 125 seats in the national assembly, the GNP is far from worrying about accumulated national agenda issues such as the economy, security and education, and pursuing efforts to reach a consensus from the public by coming up with some comprehensive and persuasive policy alternatives. Almost all it does is to make comments on the ruling party as an outsider whose quality is as good as a novice commentator. At other times, it is emerged in weekday golfing and fruitless overseas trips.

As for the real estate issue, although the public has been long sick and tired of the government’s failing policies, the GNP has never come up with a comprehensive alternative “good enough to ease instability and recover the market at the same time.” Does that mean that it does not care how much criticism President Roh Moo-hyun gets and is a market collapse none of its business as long as “taking no action thereby offending no one in either side” works for the next elections? It criticizes the ruling party’s populism but the same goes for the GNP, too.

It seems like the GNP is very accustomed to getting benefits that come with the government’s poor governance and policies with its own established political visions being absent. The party is ambiguously arguing that the power supply aid to North Korea should be approved by the National Assembly. Rather, it should be making it clear if it agrees with it or not. Chairwoman Park once said, “It’s so cold in here.” as she entered the GNP meeting room, and someone covered the air conditioner above her head, saying, “Sorry, we can’t do anything about it. It’s a central cooling system.” One may doubt whether it would even dare to offer appropriate “energy measures” with this kind of attitude.

The GNP must know that having a little higher support rate in an opinion poll than the ruling party does not mean much. There is no bright future for an idle party.