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Reward appointments aplenty in cabinet picks |
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Reward appointments aplenty in cabinet picks
The cabinet lineup Taro Aso announced immediately after he was elected prime minister by the Diet on Sept. 24 has some troubling elements.
Aso's picks include many heavyweight appointments that were clearly intended as rewards for supporting his party presidential candidacy. This is not good news for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which will soon face a crucial electoral battle with the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
With Aso apparently poised to dissolve the lower house for a snap election before long, this is effectively a caretaker cabinet. Aso himself said he will not be able to accomplish his mission unless he leads his party to victory in the upcoming general election against the DPJ. But the outlook of the poll remains unclear, and the Aso administration could end up being extremely short-lived.
In an unusual move apparently aimed at demonstrating his leadership, Aso announced his cabinet appointments himself at his first press conference as the nation's leader. But the list was dominated by his political allies and supporters. For example, he appointed Hiroyuki Hosoda to the key party post of secretary-general and named Takeo Kawamura as chief cabinet secretary. Hosoda and Kawamura are close to both Aso and former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who played the leading role in rallying support for Aso in the party presidential race.
Aso also picked Shoichi Nakagawa - an advocate of fiscal expansion - to re-energize the weakening economy as finance minister. Nakagawa contributed significantly to Aso's landslide win, as did Kunio Hatoyama, who was given the internal affairs and communications portfolio, and Akira Amari, who was chosen minister in charge of administrative reform. These political reward appointments could raise suspicion among voters that Aso has no intention of ending "politics as usual."
In a potentially controversial decision, Aso has given Nakagawa the financial services portfolio as well. The two posts have traditionally been held by different cabinet members under the principle of separating fiscal policy and financial industry oversight.
Making one person serve the two posts concurrently is not necessary a bad idea in the current global economic situation, which demands close cooperation and policy coordination among major powers.
But the move could raise some serious policy questions if it is a veiled attempt to integrate policy-making in the two branches of the government.
Meanwhile, Aso has expressed his hope for the passing of a supplementary budget to finance measures that would prop up the sagging economy before calling a general poll. That will be impossible, however, unless the DPJ plays ball with him.
Aso should propose a face-to-face meeting with DPJ chief Ichiro Ozawa on this issue. And Ozawa should set aside his partisan animus and agree to start Diet debate on the spending plan quickly.
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