Politicians in post-holiday blues
By Kang Hyun-kyung
For politicians, the Lunar New Year holiday is considered a rare opportunity to look into voters’ minds and calculate their chances of winning elections.
During the holiday many politicians, both current and aspiring lawmakers, toured their electoral districts, only to find that voter apathy is dominant.
On Wednesday, Shin Kyoung-min, spokesman of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), said he was told of worries over price hikes, unemployment and financial troubles facing small- and medium-sized businesses.
“Owners of mom and pop stores were stressed because of large retailers nearby that open long hours 365 days a year,” he said.
“Small store owners said they felt the urge to open even on holidays as they are worried about losing customers to the large retailers. This drove them to work overtime, making them tired.”
The former MBC nightly news anchor said voters want politicians to spell out specific elements of their demands, not just spout rhetoric.
Rep. Hwang Young-cheul of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) said the residents of his constituency were very negative about the way politics works.
“In a nutshell, they felt very bad about politics. They talked a lot about the economic downturn, social polarization and joblessness,” said the lawmaker whose electoral district is Hongcheon County in Gangwon Province.
His fellow GNP lawmaker expressed a similar view. Via Twitter, Rep. Chung Ui-hwa said many people he had met during the holiday had an unfavorable view of politics.
Kim Jin-young, a professor of political science at Pusan National University, said the Lunar New Year holiday offered a chance for families and relatives to share information on politics.
“Families and relatives, who live separately in several cities, gather during the holiday. They talk about politics, soaring prices and other bread-and-butter issues that directly impact their living standards,” Kim said.
“As they share ideas, they often come to new conclusions as information is assembled and reprocessed through conversation.”
The voices of grassroots citizens are so straightforward and frank that even veteran politicians are sometimes hurt by their unedited comments.
But their views are still helpful for politicians, especially those gearing up to run in the upcoming parliamentary election in April, to set the tone and direction of their campaign.
They use voters’ concerns and worries in their campaign speeches and produce pledges to appeal to their hearts and minds.
A hostile campaign environment is common across the nation even in political parties’ strongholds, such as Busan for the GNP.
Professor Kim said residents of the nation’s second largest city are very disappointed with the GNP as many of them feel that their representatives were inactive in defending their interests.
“Despite this, I don’t feel that voters here are supportive of the DUP as few of them see the main opposition as an alternative party for which they will cast their ballots,” she said.
The political scientist also remained cautious about the GNP’s prospects in the April election in Busan.