When a political party fails

The first task of a political party is to produce candidates. The highlight of democracy is an election, and a political party that fails to produce a competitive candidate for an election is not worth its existence.

Chae Byung-gunThe author is an editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.

The first task of a political party is to produce candidates. The highlight of democracy is an election, and a political party that fails to produce a competitive candidate for an election is not worth its existence. A political party is a group united by its political stances, these stances are realized through the words and legislation of politicians. That's why the public equates politicians with their stances and visions. The equation of “party = candidates” is even more fitting for this year’s U.S. presidential race. Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party did not present ready, new faces.

Three months before the presidential election, the Democratic Party changed its candidate to Vice President Kamala Harris instead of President Joe Biden to face Donald Trump. Although the change successfully shook the game and regrouped supporters, it feels empty compared to the winning formula shown by the Democratic Party in previous presidential elections.

After the Second World War, the Democratic Party produced John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and incumbent Joe Biden as presidents. Kennedy was seen as a front-runner for the New Frontier. The 43-year-old politician and his beautiful wife were young and charismatic, ushering in an administration retrospectively referred to as Camelot. His election victory served as an opportunity for Irish Catholicism to enter the WASP-oriented American leadership. Carter used a different style of character creation. In the 1976 presidential election that was in the shadow of the Watergate scandal that shook American politics, Carter presented himself as an outsider not tainted by Washington. He stressed that he worked at a peanut farm and was the only person who could change Washington. And the strategy worked. Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas, a remote area of the United States. His stepfather was an alcoholic. Clinton's opponent was the incumbent President George H.W. Bush, who led the Gulf War to U.S. victory and once had an 89 percent approval rating. Back then, the slogan of the Clinton campaign was “It’s the economy, stupid.” The slogan is still quoted today, and Clinton won the presidential election by dominating the election agenda.

Obama once again shows how important the story of a person can be. The keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention was a starting point of the major political rookie, as he said that his father was born from a small village in Kenya and raised goats. Being the first Black presidential candidate gave life into Obama's “audacity of hope.” The previously mentioned candidates share three things in common — youth, freshness and change. Compared to them, Harris joined the race in a hurry.

Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump gestures during a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on July 27. Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is in similar pose as she holds a campaign in Philadelphia, August 6. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

However, the Republican Party is even stranger as it deals with an unexpected candidate. The race had been leaning toward Republicans' favor, so the Democrats had to make the extreme decision to change their candidate. However, recent polls show a closer race. Changing the candidate three months before the presidential election almost sealed the deal. Now, however, no one can say for sure that Trump will win. Trump should have expanded his campaign to reach moderates and set a winning mood, but he failed to do that.

The Republican Party also failed to bring up new leaders to take on the Democratic Party over the past four years. While the Trump phenomenon was evident, no politician could surpass the former president who leads by dividing the country. Instead, Trump supporters in Congress increased. Rivals like Nicky Haley and Ron DeSantis were not enough to take on Trump. It is uncertain whether the Republican Party, which left the helm to Trump twice, will be able to produce a conservative leader who could be loved by all Americans like Ronald Reagan.

The U.S. presidential election is not irrelevant to Korea. It is very similar to People Power Party (PPP). After President Park Geun-hye was impeached in 2017, the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and the PPP failed to produce competitive candidates. The 2017 presidential election was chaotic as a candidate to unite the collapsed conservative camp was selected. Five years later, the PPP failed to produce candidates with the potential to change the administration in 2022. Its presidential candidate was brought up outside the party.

It is still questionable whether the PPP is capable of producing leadership figures. It is unclear whether the party's potential candidates, who have been involved in the party, have leadership in state management, and whether the newly appointed party officials have the political power to resolve the difficult relationship between the party and the government and please public sentiment. In a politically polarized society, no matter how unqualified a candidate may be, supporters will still vote based on party affiliation. The PPP can rely on polarization during elections. This means that the PPP is not leading society with politics and is instead free riding division.

The primary reason for a political party to exist is to present candidates. If the PPP fails to nurture its own candidate within the party once again, like the two previous presidential elections, its life as a political party will expire.