Sledgehammer Politics

Here's some thoughts from Michael Breen about the latest political kurfuffle in Korea. He's a wonderful writer (Full disclosure: I've read one of his books).

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2008/12/137_36738.html

"When a group of politicians in the National Assembly last week turned fire extinguishers on another group wielding sledgehammers, the world got an inside look at democratic debate in Korea.

This particular debate, which was more heated than usual, came as the Assembly's foreign affairs committee discussed the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which remains to be ratified by both countries.

The deal is better for Korea than for the United States, but is controversial here because people sense trickery in a pact that would allow them to buy beef and rice at cheaper prices.

The debate began when the ruling Fire Extinguisher Party (FEP) of President Lee Myung-bak took the wise precaution, after the opposition Sledgehammer Party (SP) threats of barricading the committee room with furniture

When Sledgehammer officials armed themselves with a sledgehammer, which is the symbol of their party, and set about clearing a way into the room, aides to Fire Extinguisher Party representatives sprayed them with powder. Photos of this scene made foreign news pages around the world, prompting the New York Times to politely refer to Korean democracy as ``feisty."

Talking to the press, Sledgehammer officials said their action was necessary because the FEP has more seats, which renders voting futile. Chief policymaker Park Byeong-seug was quoted in this newspaper saying, ``We now realize that we are unable to represent the voices of working- and middle-class citizens properly in the legislature, where all decisions are made based on votes."

The SP appears to have turned against the concept of voting after the so-called ``free elections" earlier this year in which it got sledgehammered. The former ruling party in the previous administration, it now has only 82 seats in the 299-seat parliament.

In Korean political practice, democracy requires a party with a majority to resist voting on issues in the National Assembly until it has negotiated with minority parties to avoid hurting their feelings. This contempt for voting explains why the people are contemptuous of their elected representatives.

Last week's battle seems to have struck a chord with the people. In the days that followed, kindergarten teachers all over Korea explained to puzzled pupils that they should not discuss which television program to watch and other important family matters with their brothers and sisters at home like this.

Middle-school teachers reported a rise in career advice queries by school bullies looking to enter politics. Most citizens, however, remain simply puzzled as to why National Assembly people behave so badly.

The explanation for this situation is that, despite the last two decades of democracy, politicians have not adjusted their view of the meaning behind the electoral process and the job they are elected to do. They are still stuck in the 1980s when the noble calling of democrats was agitation against dictatorship.

They fail to see that they are selected, through fair competition, by their peers _ but not because God considers them special. That means they should uphold the system that selects them, not flout it.

Second, they fail to grasp the concept of being sent to the National Assembly to represent their constituents' interests, which involves proposing, debating, and passing laws. They are not elected because their constituents think they would make a good president and should not posture in front of the media for the next job.

The Sledgehammer Party in particular needs to appreciate that it failed in the last election because its main platform of engagement with North Korea was irrelevant to the interests and needs of most voters.

Just as with liberal-left parties in Europe and elsewhere after the collapse of communism, they have to internally discuss how to remain relevant. That discussion will almost certainly lead to the conclusion that the new focus should be economics and entail a philosophical move to the center.

As for the Fire Extinguishers, they should stop pussyfooting around and accept that they were elected with a majority of votes that they have every right ― and that the people expect them ― to use.

That's democracy."