Ahn hit by electoral catch-22

By Jun Ji-hye

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo faces a big dilemma ahead of the June 4 local elections.

If the independent lawmaker forms an alliance with the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) to field joint candidates, he will risk tainting his image as a reformer of old politics.

If he doesn’t, chances are that his candidates and those from the DP will split the vote, boosting the ruling Saenuri Party’s candidates.

Plus, if the opposition fails to field joint candidates and performs poorly in the elections, Ahn will be an easy fall guy to blame, experts said Tuesday.

Choi Chang-ryul, a political scientist at Yong In University said, “In reality, the opposition parties should collaborate to win the elections. But it is also true that such unity has been cited as a bad habit of the opposition.”

Ahn and his aides have expressed negative views about fielding joint candidates.

The first-term lawmaker said at the end of last month, “Seeking opposition unity is just a defeatist mentality that is only concerned about the possibility of being beaten by the ruling party.”

However, his political colleagues sent different signals.

Independent lawmaker Song Ho-chang, a longtime confidant, said Monday that continuing to say an opposition party will fight alone till the end seems impractical in reality.

Yoon Yeo-joon, former environment minister who co-chairs Ahn’s new political party promotion committee, also talked about the need for opposition solidarity, saying, “We need to wait and see how public opinion drifts.”

But Choi said if Ahn actually joins hands with the DP, public criticism would be unavoidable.

“Ahn’s New Politics Party still remains in a vague state as it has yet to show its specific vision. Unity with the DP at this stage could send the wrong signal that Ahn is only concerned about the election of his candidates, rather than working to improve the nation’s political culture,” said Choi.

A recent survey jointly conducted by CBS and pollster the Focus Company supports Choi’s argument. 51.5 percent of respondents said Ahn’s party and the DP should field separate candidates. Only 26.8 percent supported the opposition parties uniting to field one slate.

Among Ahn’s fans, 56.3 percent said they don’t want him to combine forces with the largest opposition party.

Bae Jong-chan, chief director at Research and Research, an opinion survey company, suggested Ahn’s choice will depend on what his goal is in the elections.

“If the New Politics Party wants to contribute to beating the Park Geun-hye government, Ahn has no choice but to join hands with the DP,” he said. “If Ahn wants to display a specific vision to the public through this election, and if he regards the June elections as an intermediate stage before the next general elections and presidential poll, Ahn must proceed alone.”