Park Hee-tae was chosen to be the Grand National Party’s new chairman
at the party convention held on July 3, having been supported by the party’s
“mainstream” members, those who are aligned with Lee Myung-bak. The
convention was less about political vision and intense policy debate than
about the rivalry between the party’s mainstream and non-mainstream factions
and lining up to take turns at playing with power. Furthermore, from the
very start it was going to be difficult to get the country interested
in the event. This is because you had the party’s mainstream faction
supporting as party chairman a man the same party had denied a chance
to run for National Assembly this year, even though he was a five-term
lawmaker, because at the time it wanted to promote reform within the party.
The outcome of the convention can be summed up as what was to be expected,
the establishment of President Lee’s pro-administration regime within
his ruling party. Three of the five elected positions on the party’s
supreme council went to pro-Lee types: Park, who as Lee’s campaign chairman
was key in getting him elected; Gong Sung-jin, affiliated with the pro-
Lee, former National Assemblyman Lee Jae-oh; and Park Sun-ja, also a pro-
Lee lawmaker and chosen to fill the female slot. Now that the mainstreamers
have control of the GNP, the conditions have been set for the party to
take the lead in running the government.
However, there is no small amount of difficulties waiting for Park’s
attention, tasks that will not be easy to resolve. Angry candles have
been burning because of the beef issue for two months now, and the opposition
party is putting pressure on the government and the ruling GNP, which
has meant that the National Assembly is getting nothing done. Internally,
Park will have to work with former party Chairwoman Park Geun-hye to
resolve the emotions that remain, and he will have to find a satisfying
solution to the questions of if, when and how the “pro-Park Geun-hye”
faction that bolted from the GNP will return to the party fold. He will
also have to try to restore the working relationship between the ruling
party and the Blue House, old friends that had begun to grown apart.
These are all issues that will need to be resolved with the precision
software of political skill instead of the hardware of authority. While
it will not be easy, if he maintains a few of the following principles,
his party will be able to win back the confidence of the Korean people.
First, he should always be listening to the people and not just the the
Blue House. There have been plenty of examples of how, when the head of
the ruling party becomes the Blue House’s rubber stamp, or just its manager,
it is ruinous to both himself and the government in office. The party
needs to play a role in balancing the plans President Lee is pursuing,
like the rash privatization of state-owned companies and his attempt
to seize control of broadcasting. The ruling party should also assume
a leading role in speaking for the people about how the economy is managed
and about inter-Korean relations.
Secondly, Park needs to guide politics towards a politics of dialogue,
compromise and mutual prosperity with the opposition. Park himself should
know well enough, given his many years of experience in the National Assembly,
what happens when a ruling party forces its way around all the time.
Finally, he needs to be thinking about growing the country’s democracy
and about political development. It will only be a matter of time before
the public abandons the ruling party if Park turns back recent reforms,
in unprincipled ways, in the name of national reconciliation.
It is for this reason one watches closely as Park enters this political test.
박희태 한나라당 새 대표 체제가 성공하려면
어제 한나라당 전당대회에서 당 대표에 당내 주류인 이명박계가 민 박희태 전 의원이 선출됐다. 이번 대회는 정치적 비전이나 치열한 정책 대결보다는 주류와 비주류의 계파 대립과 줄세우기 경쟁으로 일관하다시피 했다.
더구나 개혁이라는 이름으로 지난 총선에서 공천 탈락시킨 사람을 주류가 당 대표로 미는 자가당착적 상황을 연출해 애초부터 국민의 관심을 끌기가 어려웠다.
예상대로 결과는 이 대통령의 친정체제 구축이라고 뭉뚱그릴 수 있다.
지난해 선대위위원장으로 이 대통령 만들기의 일등공신이었던 박 전 의원을 비롯해 이재오 전 의원계의 공성진 의원과 여성 몫의 박순자 의원 등 총 5명의 선출직 최고위원 중 3명이 친이계에서 차지했다. 주류가 당을 장악함으로써 국정운영을 주도할 수 있는 여건은 마련된 셈이다.
그러나 신임 박 대표 체제를 기다리고 있는 난제들은 해법이 결코 녹록지 않다.
쇠고기 문제로 성난 촛불은 두달째 타고 있으며, 야당 역시 정부·여당을 압박하면서 국회 밖을 맴돌고 있다.
또 안으로는 박근혜 전 대표 쪽과의 앙금을 해소해야 하고, 논란 많은 친박의원들의 입당 문제도 매끄럽게 매듭지어야 한다.
소원했던 당-청 관계도 회복해야 한다.
모두 다 힘에 의한 하드파워가 아니라 정치력이라는 정교한 소프트파워로 해결해야 하는 사안들이다.
쉽지는 않지만, 몇 가지 원칙을 유지한다면 국민의 신뢰를 얻을 수 있다.
첫째, 청와대가 아니라 항상 국민의 목소리에 귀를 기울이는 일이다. 여당 대표가 청와대의 거수기나 단순한 대리 관리자에 머무를 경우 자신도 망가지고 결국 정권도 망치는 경우를 과거 숱하게 봐 왔다. 특히 무분별한 공기업 민영화나 방송 장악 시도 등을 이 대통령이 추진하는 상황에서 당의 견제 구실은 절실하다.
경제운용이나 남북관계 등에서도 국민의 목소리를 반영하도록 당이 앞장서야 한다.
둘째, 야당과 대화하고 타협하는 상생의 정치를 선도해야 한다. 여당이 밀어붙이기로 일관한 결과가 어떠했다는 것은 오랜 의정 경험이 있는 박 대표가 더 잘 알 것이다.
셋째, 민주주의 확대와 정치 발전을 염두에 둬야 한다. 당내 화합이라는 명목으로 무원칙하게 개혁을 후퇴시켜서는 국민의 외면을 받는 것은 시간문제다. 정치적 시험대에 선 박 대표가 주목되는 까닭이다.
[한겨레 7/4]
