[Editorial] GNP in turmoil

The ruling Grand National Party, faced with a leadership crisis, is put to a test over whether it will be able to put itself on the path to its former glory or continue to run adrift until it is shipwrecked. There is no easy prediction about its future, as an ad hoc committee that is empowered to map it out has yet to be created.

For the moment, however, pessimism is outweighing optimism. Some demoralized party-affiliated lawmakers are giving up running for reelection, while some others are vowing to leave the party if their proposal to dissolve the party to create a new one with other like-minded groups looks unlikely to be accepted.

The ruling party, with 169 seats in the 299-member legislature, looks even more pathetic, when juxtaposed against the main opposition Democratic Party. Having left a violence-ridden national congress behind, the opposition party is now in the process of merging with other opposition groups.

The conservative ruling party’s leadership began to crumble when three lawmakers withdrew from the decision-making Supreme Council a week ago, calling for sweeping reform in the party.

The lawmakers demanded Rep. Hong Joon-pyo resign from the post of chairman, holding himself responsible for a cyber attack on the National Election Commission. The scandal, which involved party staffers, dealt a deadly blow to the party, which had been reeling from a defeat in the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election. Hong had to quit the next day, ditching his plan to merge with other conservative groups.

A general consensus has since emerged that Rep. Park Geun-hye, a former party chairwoman and a hitherto uncontested presidential hopeful, will have to lead the party out of its deepening turmoil. In a crisis, it is only a matter of course for party members to rally behind a leader with proven credentials.

But the problem is she does not have much room for maneuver. The party does not stand a good chance of winning the next general election. Instead, it is most likely to fight an uphill battle during the lead-up to the April vote.

Should the party under her leadership lose the elections, she would have to hold herself accountable. Even so, she cannot brush aside the request to assume the leadership of the party in crisis. If she did, she would lose much of her mandate as the party’s potential presidential nominee. In other words, she is vulnerable to factional attacks either way.

No wonder she has until recently been keeping a low profile, apparently pondering what action to take. But she needs to take action promptly. She cannot afford to squander much time, at least for two reasons.

First, more lawmakers may decide to leave the party if Park fails to put the house in order in the near future. They will undoubtedly be lured to a group of conservatives, which, disillusioned about the party’s poor performance in the past, is now in the process of turning itself into a political party.

Another reason is that the National Assembly is now in limbo, as the ruling party, in the absence of its leadership, fails to take the initiative on the floor. It remains closed when it needs to take action on quite a few urgent agenda items.

As a consequence, the legislature is sitting on the 2012 budget bill, whose passage is already overdue. With the new fiscal year starting on Jan. 1, the administration has nothing but wring its hands. It is worried about the possibility of being forced to draw up a provisional spending plan.

Nor is the legislature living up to the expectations of the public, which demands that it take a stand against the recent slaying of a Coast Guard officer by the skipper of a Chinese boat poaching in South Korea’s fishing grounds in the West Sea. It remains inactive when the outraged public wants to see it team up with the government in pushing for China’s commitment to the prevention of illegal fishing.

Now Park has started to talk with her detractors on reform, which should bear fruit. Her ability to connect is being tested.