EDITORIAL: The state of the LDP

The speech delivered by Liberal Democratic Party President Sadakazu Tanigaki at Sunday's party convention drew especially large applause when he vowed to bid farewell to the old LDP.

It was the first convention since the party was unseated from power in the Lower House election last summer.

"All the ties and relations our party built up during its 54 years of rule should have served as our bonds with the people," Tanigaki said. "But we slipped into a rut.

"There is no denying that our party became dependent on bureaucrats, became complacent and allowed cozy ties to develop between politicians and bureaucrats," he added.

After acknowledging these problems within his party, Tanigaki said, "We now bid farewell to the old LDP, in which only a small number of politicians divvy up the political spoils while being locked in an internal power struggle."

The LDP can no longer throw patronage to supporters since it has lost the power to decide on budgets and taxes. The party can no longer depend on bureaucrats, either.

The LDP started talking about a departure from its past practices only after it fell from power. Although it was too late, such soul-searching is a first step in the party's efforts to overcome its past. It is an indispensable process for its revival.

However, Tanigaki's speech alone cannot clean up the legacy of the LDP's lengthy rule. Tearing down a dilapidated house and building a new one requires an extended period of steady work.

The first thing the party should do is to reconsider its policy agenda.

The party adopted a new platform at the convention. Besides upholding such political principles as "true Japanese conservatism," the platform says the LDP will seek to fix government finances through higher budget efficiency and tax reform so that the burden won't be passed on to future generations.

It makes sense for the LDP to stress its differences from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which has avoided debate on a consumption tax hike. But it was under the LDP government that the nation's fiscal health deteriorated.

Unless the LDP reflects seriously on its past policy mistakes and asks itself how it should change its policies, it will be unable to appeal to the people and present a clear vision for the nation's future.

Secondly, the party needs to develop the human resources necessary for its political comeback. Pundits attribute the LDP's loss of power partly to the fact that the party had so many hereditary Diet members, leading many talented people to run as DPJ candidates. The LDP cannot hope to regain political vigor unless it changes this situation.

The LDP has started testing a new system of recruiting candidates from the public for national elections. Under this system, the party's candidates would be selected by party members through primaries and other processes.

The LDP should make serious efforts to reform its current system. For good or bad, after its disastrous defeat in the Lower House election, the party now has room to accept young newcomers.

These tough challenges require a lot of time. But the LDP would risk losing even its status as one of the two major parties unless it starts grappling with the challenges immediately.

Several incumbents and former Diet members have left the LDP. Former health minister Yoichi Masuzoe has indicated he might form a new party.

The DPJ is facing its own problems, mainly due to political fund scandals involving its top leaders. Still, public support for the LDP has shown no signs of picking up. That means voters are not ready to give a ruling mandate to the LDP even if they are increasingly disillusioned with the DPJ.

What the LDP leadership needs is a clear and strong awareness that the party is on the brink of slipping into political limbo.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 25