20111121 EDITORIAL: Government’s change of heart

EDITORIAL: Government’s change of heart

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is never afraid of making frequent and unpredictable policy flip-flops.

Following a closed-door meeting on Thursday night, the Cabinet decided to ditch its plan to increase the monthly subsidy for elderly farmers by NT$316, instead raising it by NT$1,000.

This change of heart came exactly one month after Ma announced the stingy NT$316 raise for farmers aged 65 and over to reflect the 5.27 percent average increase in the consumer price index over the past four years, when the subsidy was last adjusted.

And surprise, the new subsidy proposal is exactly the same as one by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The irony in this abrupt about face is that Ma spent a great deal of time defending the original increase as a fair measure that avoided “political bargains” during the campaign season.

He also ignored warnings from KMT legislators from southern cities and counties who said a NT$316 increase would create a backlash among voters in agricultural areas.

So what changed Ma’s mind?

The president said he decided to review the issue after a meeting on Thursday with Taiwan Organization for Disadvantaged Patients secretary-general Yang Yu-hsing (楊玉欣) and other civic leaders to discuss subsidy programs.

Yang, who was nominated by the KMT on Wednesday as a legislator-at-large candidate, persuaded the president to increase the rise in the farmers’ subsidy, and subsidies for other disadvantaged groups, because many had not been changed for years. Making up for the shortfalls would help those in need, he said.

However, the real deciding factor behind the policy change was the plummeting support for Ma, especially in the south. KMT politicians unanimously urged the government to increase the subsidy and said voters in agricultural cities had come up with the slogan: “No NT$1,000, no votes.”

During his meeting with Yang, Ma said the government would increase the subsidy for elderly farmers and other disadvantaged groups, promising that the government would discuss the possibility of presenting a new version that could benefit more people while systemizing the subsidy programs.

Ma’s hastily arranged meeting with Yang on Thursday was a way for the president to show attention to Yang as a representative of disadvantaged groups. For Ma and the KMT, it was a way out of the subsidy plan predicament they are facing ahead of the elections.

After the subsidy revision was announced, Ma did not hesitate to acknowledge that the previous version had sparked accusations that the government was not giving enough assistance to farmers and other minority groups. When asked about the flip-flop, Ma’s running mate, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), told reporters that the initial increase, calculated in accordance with the estimated 5.27 percent rise in consumer prices, was “not good enough.”

Whether the new policy will boost support for Ma and the KMT remains to be seen, but it would not be surprising if the capricious Ma administration made more policy changes to please voters as the January presidential and legislative elections grow nearer.