As frontrunner presidential candidate Moon Jae-in is far ahead of the pack, talks about forming an anti-Moon alliance are gaining traction. In Monday’s meeting of its lawmakers, the splinter Bareun Party proposed a three-way coalition involving its nominee Yoo Seong-min, Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party. But Yoo, who ranks last among the four in approval ratings, reaffirmed his resolve to run till the end.
The three weak parties share the view that a unifying candidacy is necessary to prevent Moon, the nominee for the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, from taking power. But the chances are not so high.
Ahn, who is trailing Moon, is skeptical about the idea of fielding a single candidate, fearing that many of his liberal and centrist supporters and those from the southwestern Jeolla provinces could withdraw their support. Hong, who ranks third with support of 7 to 10 percent, is open to forming an alliance with the Bareun Party, but not with Ahn.
Nonetheless, there are expectations in the political community that the anti-Moon coalition will be realized. Ahn, who holds the key to the candidacy consolidation, might change his mind if his support rating plunges further in the run-up to the May 9 election.
Seeking to form a political alliance is not wrong-headed. In fact, liberals took power in 1997 and 2002 by unifying candidates. The proposal is all the more convincing, considering that cooperative governance and political alliances are essential in the next administration because no party holds a parliamentary majority.
But it would be wrong if parties consider only the election victory without forming a consensus on ideology and policies. Not surprisingly, the current crisis of the nation’s conservative forces stems from the failure to show new conservative values rather than fielding too many candidates. Unifying candidates merely intended to ostracize a specific person is undesirable. As far as candidacy consolidation is concerned, parties should have principles and causes and share ideology and value extensively.
It’s a pity that we have to grapple with this hackneyed issue once again. That’s because we have yet to introduce a presidential runoff. The system should be adopted if the Constitution is revised in the next administration.