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| Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, right, waves toward wax figures of the late liberal President Kim Dae-jung and his wife Lee Hee-ho during a visit to the Kim Dae Jung Nobel Peace Prize Memorial in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Jun Ji-hye
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo is demonstrating that he can influence the political landscape ahead of the June 4 local elections, analysts said Thursday.
The independent lawmaker hasn't hesitated to criticize the major parties while giving details of his plan to launch a new political party in March, which is expected to become a major variable in the local polls.
The impact of his words is evidenced by both the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which are reacting sensitively to Ahn's moves by issuing statements every time he makes remarks aimed in their direction.
The former presidential candidate initially appeared to diminish into a figure of meager influence after entering the National Assembly through a by-election in April last year. He disappeared from the front pages of media and became isolated from wrangles among rival parties on issues such as alleged meddling in the 2012 presidential election by the National Intelligence Service.
However, Ahn is regaining public and media attention by more aggressively expressing his views on recent issues, silencing critics who cited his ambiguous attitudes a a weakness of the first-term lawmaker.
Commenting on the governing side's failure to keep a campaign pledge to abolish the practice of political parties designating candidates for municipal elections, Ahn reacted swiftly, saying breaking a promise with the public is a vestige of past authoritarian regimes.
"Such old politics can do nothing to improve the people's livelihood and develop the nation," said Ahn.
The former doctor and software guru also took aim at President Park Geun-hye, when he said she should clearly answer if breaking the election pledge compromises the principles of her "trust politics."
His advisors acknowledge that Ahn is now familiar with the shifting sands of politics.
Yoon Yeo-joon, a former environment minister who co-chairs the "new politics promotion committee," a preparatory body for creating Ahn's party, said "Ahn has changed a lot. He now has considerable insight about how politics changes."
Yoon added that Ahn has become stronger than ever, observing that, "He seems to have realized how important human resources are."
Political analysts said solid approval ratings coming from independent and centrist voters are Ahn's biggest weapon.
"In the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, Ahn garnered about 30 percent support without a political party. Public aspiration for new politics still remains high and this is expressed in his approval ratings," said Chung Goon-gi, a political analyst and professor at Hongik University.
Chung said that the latest issue of whether to scrap the party nomination system served as momentum for Ahn to speak out against the major parties.
"The proposal was designed to remove one of privileges of political parties and reform local elections. It is a good subject for Ahn to lead discussions on," he said.
The professor added, however, that the current approval ratings are seen as reflecting Ahn's personal popularity, not that of the proposed party.
"Which figures he will recruit to his party and which candidates he will field in the local polls are significant factors for success in the polls and further persistence, because his popularity and influence should run throughout his party," said Chung.
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