New LDP president needs to develop clear plan for party's survival
(From The Japan Times Sept. 30 issue)

自民党の生き残りをかけた政策づくりを

The Liberal Democratic Party has elected former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki as its new president.

By garnering about 60 percent of the total vote — 120 of the 199 LDP Diet member votes and 180 of the 300 votes distributed among the LDP's local chapters — he defeated former Vice Justice Minister Taro Kono and Mr. Yasutoshi Nishimura, a Lower House member who has just won his third term.

Many LDP members apparently viewed Mr. Tanigaki as a safe bet given his experience in the Cabinet and as a senior party figure. He had urged party unity while younger candidates called for a generational change. Still, in order to fight the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), to which it yielded power as a result of the Aug. 30 Lower House election, the LDP needs new energy and power. The call for party unity alone will not be enough to resuscitate the LDP. Mr. Tanigaki has yet to develop a clear plan for the party's revival.

It seems that LDP members in general expressed little hope about the party's future. Only 46.7 percent of the LDP members in local chapters eligible to vote in the party presidential election cast ballots. This is some 15 percentage points lower than the 61.5 percent voter turnout in the 2006 presidential race. Even so, it is significant that Mr. Kono, who bitterly criticized the party's old guard, received 109 votes from local chapters.

After his election was confirmed, Mr. Tanigaki said the party was beaten in the Aug. 30 election because its ability to find out what people need and develop policy measures to satisfy those needs had weakened. But it must be kept in mind that the Cold War, a period that provided an ideological base for the party, and the days when the party needed to concentrate only on distributing the fruits of high economic growth among interest groups are over.

Mr. Tanigaki must listen to opinions from various segments of society and rework the party's basic ideals from scratch. The LDP's raison d'etre is at stake. He also needs to come up with specific policy proposals that are distinct from the DPJ's and appealing in their own right.

自民党総裁選で、谷垣禎一・元財務省が河野元法務副大臣と西村衆院議員を下し、議員票、地方票の合計6割の票を得て新総裁に選ばれた。党員の多くは、内閣や党の要職を歴任した安定感を評価したのだろう。世代交代を訴えた若手候補に対し、谷垣氏は挙党一致を呼びかけたが、民主党と闘うには新しいパワーも必要だ。氏はまだ党の再生計画は明示していない。

社会のあらゆる層の声を聞き、党の基本理念を一から描くことが谷垣氏の課題だ。自民党の存在意義が危ぶまれるなか、民主党との違いを際立たせた魅力ある政策提案を示す必要がある。