Difficult path awaits Ozawa
(From The Japan Times Nov. 9 issue)

要約
苦境に立つ小沢民主党代表

After a few days of fussing in the Democratic Party of Japan, Mr. Ichiro Ozawa on Nov. 6 withdrew his offer to resign as head of the No. 1 opposition party. Mr. Ozawa had announced his resignation earlier this month to express a sense of responsibility for causing a rift in the party over his handling of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's proposal to form a grand coalition. Mr. Ozawa formally withdrew his resignation at a meeting of the party's Diet members Nov. 7. He said, "I have resolved to spur myself on, staking my political life on a coming Lower House election, battling it out with all my power and gaining victory without fail."

The DPJ Diet members accepted Mr. Ozawa back at the helm, but he will have a difficult time as leader. That's because it appeared he was ready to accept the coalition proposal in his meeting with Mr. Fukuda, contrary to his long-standing pledge that he would do his best to lead the DPJ to victory in a general election to achieve a change of government. His positive attitude toward Mr. Fukuda's proposal has caused suspicion among some DPJ members concerning Mr. Ozawa's true intentions. If Mr. Ozawa again shows any sign that he has not completely turned away from the idea of a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party, it could cause a fatal schism within the DPJ.

The confusion in the DPJ stemming from Mr. Ozawa's meeting with Mr. Fukuda and his subsequent offer to resign has cast a dark shadow over Mr. Ozawa's qualifications as a party leader and the DPJ's reliability as the leading opposition party. It demonstrated a lack of unity in the party, and a lack of communication between the party leader and members.

Acting arbitrarily on his own is Mr. Ozawa's weakness. The DPJ is not his private party. Mr. Ozawa must strive to carefully explain his ideas about the party's direction, strategy and policy matters to party members so that consensus can form within the party. Only when the party is united on these matters and can present them in a clear manner to the public will it be able to regain the trust of people.

小沢一郎民主党代表は6日、辞意を撤回した。小沢氏は先に、福田康夫首相との自民・民主両党の「大連立」をめぐる党首会談で起きた政治混乱の責任を取るため辞意を表明していた。

小沢氏は7日の民主党両院議員総会で、「来るべき衆院選に政治生命を賭け、必ず勝利する」と述べたが、氏が党首会談で大連立を受け入れる姿勢を示したことで、民主党議員の一部には氏に対する不信感を持つ向きもある。

党首会談とそれに続く小沢氏の辞意表明は、氏の党代表としての資格と、民主党の野党第1党としての信頼度に暗い影を投げかけている。問題は、党の連帯の欠如を露呈した。

独断専行は小沢氏の弱点である。氏は、民主党の基本路線についての考え、戦術、政策について所属議員に対して丁寧に説明をし、合意を得なければならない。民主党は、これらの点について意見を統一して国民に提示して初めて、国民の信頼を回復することができる。