Taiwan’s two main opposition parties appeared to be on the brink of announcing their shotgun wedding – the leader of one would run for president in January’s election; the leader of the other would be his running mate.
Saturday’s unexpected deal would have shaken up the winner-takes-all race, posing the first real challenge to the ruling party, which is currently leading the polls.
But then the groom – or was it the bride? – got cold feet. The shotgun wedding was over before it had even begun, not least because there was never any love lost between the old nationalist Kuomintang party (KMT) and the newer Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Both promise better ties with an increasingly aggressive Beijing – and a lower risk of war. This sets them apart from the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has drawn closer to the US even as its rhetoric about an independent Taiwan has got louder.
But that is where the similarities end.
The KMT ruled Taiwan from 1945 until 2000. It still sees the presidential office building in Taipei as its natural home. And party leaders are certain they would be returning there next year, if it wasn’t for who they see as a political upstart called Ko Wen-je.
The 64-year-old former surgeon has garnered a surprising amount of support in this election, particularly from young voters, on the back of a push for affordable housing.
His detractors accuse him of being an opportunistic populist, with no real, consistent policies – and point to how wildly he has swung across the political spectrum during his career.
Back in the 1990s, Mr Ko was a staunch supporter of Taiwan’s then opposition party, the DPP. In those days the DPP were the outsiders, fighting for full democracy and an end to decades of KMT dictatorship. —BBC
