民主党分裂―公約を鍛え直す契機に

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 3
EDITORIAL: Opportunity is ripe for DPJ to improve its public pledges
民主党分裂―公約を鍛え直す契機に

Veteran political fixer Ichiro Ozawa and 49 loyalists effectively resigned from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan on July 2.
　民主党の小沢一郎元代表のグループが離党届を提出した。

They plan to create a new party in an effort to win over voters in the next Lower House election by campaigning on two key issues: opposition to an unpopular increase in the consumption tax rate and a pledge to phase out nuclear power generation.
　近く新党を立ち上げ、「反消費増税」「脱原発」を旗印に、次の総選挙を戦うという。

Ozawa demanded that the DPJ withdraw the bills for raising the consumption tax rate. The bills recently passed the Lower House after 129 hours of Diet deliberations. A suprapartisan agreement was reached after days of talks between the DPJ and two opposition parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito. Ozawa’s demand was simply unrealistic and unreasonable.
　小沢氏は、消費増税関連法案の撤回を要求していた。１２９時間に及ぶ国会審議と、自民、公明両党との修正協議の末、やっと衆院通過にこぎつけた法案である。無理難題というほかはない。

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and the ruling party’s leadership should expel these rebels instead of accepting their letters of resignation, thereby making a decisive break with the group.
　野田首相と党執行部は離党届を受理するかたちではなく、除名処分を科してきっぱり決別するのが筋である。

There is no doubt that the defections will weaken the Noda administration’s power base in terms of the ruling party’s numerical strength in the Diet.
　「数」のうえで野田政権の基盤が弱まるのは間違いない。

But the development is not necessarily a total loss for the DPJ, of which Ozawa was once president.
　それでも、失うものばかりではない。

The ruling party has been plagued by perennial bickering between the Ozawa group and the anti-Ozawa camp over policies and political approaches. The party has been unable to achieve unity on such key policy issues as upping the consumption tax rate. The DPJ should use its break with the Ozawa group as a first step toward overcoming this obvious weakness.
　政策でも政治手法でも、なにかといえば「小沢ＶＳ．反小沢」の対立できしむ。消費増税のような重要政策で結束できない。そんな民主党の「弱さ」を克服する一歩とするのだ。

Then, the DPJ should seek to use the framework for cooperation with the LDP and New Komeito to enact other important legislation during the extended Diet session. The ruling party needs to seek suprapartisan cooperation wherever possible to push through important policies.
　そのうえで、民自公の３党協力の枠組みを延長国会の懸案処理に活用する。協力すべきは協力し、政治を前に進める。

That’s the only way left for Noda, who has to tackle many policy challenges in the face of a dominant opposition presence in the Upper House.
　「ねじれ国会」のもと、首相に残された道はそれしかない。

At the same time, the DPJ should take this opportunity to stage an all-out effort to improve the political viability of its basic policy proposals. The party’s election manifesto for the 2009 Lower House election, developed under Ozawa’s leadership, was full of hollow promises that were not backed by a realistic financing plan. The party cannot afford to keep hewing to this bankrupt platform.
　同時に、党をあげて基本政策を鍛え直す契機とすべきだ。小沢氏主導でまとめた０９年総選挙のマニフェストは財源の裏づけのない「果たせない公約」だった。これを、このまま掲げ続けるわけにはいかない。

On the other hand, Ozawa has pledged to return to the policy agenda that helped the DPJ come to power through the regime change in 2009. He would claim that his new party can deliver on the promise to raise 16.8 trillion yen (about $210 billion) to finance various policy proposals without raising the consumption tax.
　一方、小沢氏は「政権交代の原点に立ち返る」ことを訴えている。消費増税なしに１６．８兆円の新規財源を生み出すという公約を、自分たちなら実行できる、と言いたいのだろう。

But Ozawa was responsible for implementing the DPJ’s policy pledges during nine months that the administration headed by Yukio Hatoyama was in office. At the time, Ozawa served as the ruling party’s secretary-general.
　だが、鳩山政権の９カ月、小沢氏は幹事長として公約を実行すべき立場にあった。

Yet, we have hardly ever heard Ozawa propound specific proposals for the type of spending cuts that would be needed to produce such a large amount of money.
　なのに、どこにどれだけの財源を生むムダがあるのか、小沢氏の口から具体的な提案をほとんど聞いたことがない。

In a recent Asahi Shimbun poll, only 15 percent of respondents voiced expectations for Ozawa’s new party, while 78 percent said they had no expectations.
　朝日新聞の世論調査では、小沢氏らの新党について「期待する」という人は１５％にとどまった。それに対し「期待しない」という人は７８％に達した。

The poll findings apparently show that the nation’s voting public has become leery of the politician, who has again thrown politics into confusion by brandishing unrealistic policy proposals.
　実行不能の公約を振りかざし、またぞろ政治をかき回す。そんな小沢氏に対する、民意の疑念が読み取れないか。

If the tax bills pass the Diet during the extended session, Noda will come under renewed pressure to dissolve the Lower House for a snap election to seek a fresh public mandate to govern the nation.
　延長国会で関連法案が成立すれば、首相はいずれ衆院の解散・総選挙で国民に信を問うことが迫られよう。

The fragmented DPJ needs to focus on prompt suprapartisan cooperation to push through key policy challenges.
　与野党を超えて懸案処理で協力しつつ、社会保障や原発をはじめ基本政策の方向性と、たしかな財源の裏付けがある現実的な公約づくりで競い合う。

On the other hand, the parties should vie for voter support by making clear their positions on such basic issues as social security and nuclear power generation and developing realistic platforms backed by solid financing plans.
　民主党の分裂を機に、各党はそうした作業を急ぐべきだ。