Is it possible to get Ishiba’s support for “Prime Minister Kono” stable?
Chen Dan
Japanese sources said on the 14th that former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba decided to abandon running for the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, that is, the party leader, and may support Taro Kono, the minister in charge of administrative reform with the highest public support rate.
However, Ishiba has always been at odds with party leaders Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso, and Kono hopes to win the support of the latter two. Cooperating with Shipo is a blessing or a curse, and it is hard to say.
[Three pillars of stone break and discard]
“The Asahi Shimbun” reported that Ishiba planned to convene a meeting of the “Ishiba faction” congressmen on the 15th and formally announced that he would abandon the election and support Kono. This means that the election of the president of the Liberal Democratic Party will form a tripartite pattern of Kono, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, and former Minister of General Affairs Sanae Takaichi. Kono, Kishida, and Takashi have all announced their candidacy.
Regarding the Liberal Democratic Party’s new party leader, a number of public opinion surveys showed that Shiba ranked second, second only to Kono. He has been considering whether to participate in the party leader election scheduled for voting on the 29th in recent days.
Shi Po has ran for the Liberal Democratic Party leader four times and lost four times. Some of his close friends thought that the possibility of victory this time was unlikely, so they persuaded him to give up.
The faction under the leadership of Shi Po, the “Shi Po faction”, has only 17 members of Congress, and it is difficult to meet the requirement of 20 members of Congress to recommend for the official election of the party leader. Some members advocated using support for Kono to achieve the rock-breaking political goal.
The current Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga suddenly announced on the 3rd that he would not participate in the party leader election. This means that he will step down as prime minister at the end of the party’s first term on the 30th. The public is dissatisfied with the performance of Yoshihide Suga’s cabinet in response to the new crown epidemic, making it unsustainable for the operation of the regime.
The Liberal Democratic Party has long occupied a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and the new party leader is expected to become the next prime minister.
[Joining forces is a blessing or a curse]
According to Kyodo News, Kono visited Ishiba on the 13th to seek support. The two talked for about 20 minutes. Kono promised that if the party leader is elected and then the prime minister, he will welcome the House of Representatives election with a unified attitude of the whole party, and “will also maximize the strength of the’Stone Breakers'”.
TV Asahi commentator Tamagawa Toru believes that according to some polls, Kono and Ishiba’s respective approval ratings add up to more than 50%. If Ishiba’s supporters flow to Kono, Kono will be in the most favorable position and may be directly in the first round of voting. Win. Just, “Abe and Aso will be silent for this?”
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun’s earlier analysis, Ishiba’s support can help Kono win the support of more ordinary party members and young parliamentarians, but Kono might offend Abe and Aso, who have always opposed Ishiba’s stance.
Ishipo once competed with Aso and Abe for the party leadership position. When Aso was prime minister, he supported “Aso stepping down.” During Abe’s second term as prime minister, he constantly criticized the administration of the Abe cabinet.
Kono belongs to the Aso faction, the second largest faction of the Liberal Democratic Party led by Aso. Some analysts believe that if Kono cooperates with Ishiba, Aso may join forces with Abe, who can influence the largest faction in the party, the “Hosoda faction”, and raise the banner of “anti-Ishiba” to prevent Kono from winning the election. That would be what Takaichi and Kishida dream of.
A senior government official who did not want to be named previously told the Yomiuri Shimbun that if Kono cooperates with Ishiba, “it will cause an adverse chemical reaction.” (End) (Xinhua News Agency Special Feature)
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