Regardless of what parties they belong to, lawmakers should know that the people are only concerned with their livelihoods, which continue to deteriorate.
People’s patience with political confrontations over partisan interests is reaching its limit. The rival camps should concentrate their efforts on addressing the prolonged economic slump.
Fresh from seeing during the Chusok holidays what the people want most, the ruling Uri Party and the main opposition Grand National Party are now resolved to give top priority to reviving the economy.
However, their resolution is generally expected to be short-lived because they are sure to engage in wrangling again over political issues rather than economic ones. The confrontation will let the situation slip further, just as the economy is faced with another blow because of a sharp decline in exports caused by the exorbitant prices of oil and other raw materials, the reduction of U.S. bank interest rates and China’s stringent policy to control its overheated economy.
The first step the two rival parties should take to turn their words into action is put an end to conflicts over three major political issues _ the relocation of the administrative capital, the fate of the national security law and the investigation and correction of wrongs committed during the period of Japan’s rule of the peninsula.
But it will be impossible to realize the aim unless the government party makes concessions over these sensitive issues as until now it has pushed ahead with them, taking advantage of a majority in the National Assembly.
As argued by an increasing number of people, there is no reason to keep wasting time and energy on the three issues while disregarding the growing economic woes and the worsening livelihoods of the people.
Against this backdrop, the ruling party should reach a compromise with the opposition GNP as quickly as possible so as to combine efforts to bring about a recovery for the economy.
That is the start for keeping the promise the two parties made to the public soon after the general elections when they said they would engage in politics of reconciliation, cooperating to revive the economy and improve the lives of the people.
It is obvious that the first thing the government and the ruling party should do for an economic turnaround is lift or ease the various restrictions on corporate activities so as to help enterprises, especially family-owned conglomerates, expand their facility investments and pursue new projects.