Theoretically, arranged marriages work because the union benefits from the experience and wisdom of the matchmakers, while unions born of love succeed due to the strength of the bonds that see the partners hold on to each other through thick and thin.
Neither of these dynamics applies to the proposed “blue-white alliance” between the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), which amounts to little more than a marriage of convenience.
Hou and Ko separately held news conferences to discuss the proposal on Tuesday.
Hou said that he would accept being placed second on the ticket, but an alliance would only make sense if both men’s names were listed.
First, there is no way that the KMT would accept its candidate playing second fiddle. Second, even though the media is not privy to the talks, it seems like Ko has expressed doubts about whether he wants Hou on the same ticket.
Hou himself admitted that Ko has not made it clear yet whether he wants to take Hou as his “wife.”
Considering Hou said that, he must be expecting to be rejected. It has been suggested that Ko has his eyes on former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) or independent presidential candidate Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘).
Ko said he felt like being forced into a marriage, but he does have the option of saying no.
He also expressed concerns about the larger KMT trying to strong-arm the smaller TPP.
This is exactly what is happening, although it is unclear why he would be surprised and where — given this realization — he sees the relationship going after the honeymoon period.
Ko acknowledges that the TPP and the KMT have different cultures and agendas, but he sees the alliance as desirable to oust the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), as he believes two terms in office has made the DPP arrogant. As a doctor, Ko accurately diagnosed the KMT to be just as arrogant, and determined that the relationship’s future did not look good.
This coalition experiment is new for Taiwan’s democratic development, and it needs to be done correctly.
If the two parties cannot agree now, if the basis for the inability to reach an agreement is a lack of mutual trust and difference in vision, and the ties that bind are only a shared determination to oust the DPP, what are the chances that the two parties would be able to maintain a unity of purpose in government? With the longstanding lack of intraparty unity the KMT is notorious for and the inexperience of the TPP, what are the chances that there would not be a huge bust-up in the aftermath of the election?
Hou and Ko are negotiating this alliance as if it would be Ko and Hou running the show, but if we have learned anything from the KMT’s campaign thus far, it is that the shadow of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has loomed large in the background. Ko should be careful about whom he ends up with in the marital bed.
The election is not about winning on Jan. 13. It is about earning the right to govern, and from there to govern effectively.
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