http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091103a6.html
Lee contrasts his party with stagnant LDP
SINGAPORE (Kyodo) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has cited the failure of the Liberal Democratic Party to renew itself as a grim reminder of the need for his People's Action Party, which has ruled the wealthy city-state for decades, to avoid the same downhill path.
"It is not easy for a party in power to celebrate 50 years in government. You look at the parties in Asia — several of them have been in power for a considerable time, but all of them are soul-searching, thinking (about) what must they change, how must they adapt to the future," Lee said at the party's convention Sunday, the English-language Straits Times newspaper reported Monday.
Lee is secretary general of the PAP, which has been in power since 1959.
His speech to about 1,000 party cadres mentioned the recent troubles faced by Japan's LDP and Malaysia's ruling Barisan National coalition.
He said the PAP's commitment to self-renewal has been a key factor preventing it from decaying or stagnating, and allowing it to stay relevant and in power for so long.
"For the LDP, things began to take a turn for the worse in the 1990s when the Japanese economic bubble burst. The electorate started to blame every bad thing that happened — from unemployment to the loss of its self-confidence — on the party," he said.
"This August, it lost at the polls. It had ruled Japan for almost 55 years, save for a break in 1993. But it isn't just that the economy went up and went down. It's more than that. The LDP didn't renew themselves," he said.
Lee said the Japanese system that allowed legislators' children to practically inherit Diet seats from their parents and the long waiting time period before legislators could become ministers made it hard for the LDP to retain and attract talent.
"Now the LDP has lost power but is still finding it difficult to break the old mold," he said, adding that the party needs to "take time to reorganize itself and find new ways to appeal to voters."
Lee said his own party has identified some younger candidates in their 30s and 40s to join his party's slate for the next general election, which is due by February 2012.
The PAP has dominated Singapore's legislature since independence after separation with Malaysia in 1965. It won 82 out of 84 parliamentary seats in the 2006 general elections, or 67 percent of the votes cast.
Lee's father, Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, ruled the city-state with an iron fist for about three decades.
Lee contrasts his party with stagnant LDP
SINGAPORE (Kyodo) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has cited the failure of the Liberal Democratic Party to renew itself as a grim reminder of the need for his People's Action Party, which has ruled the wealthy city-state for decades, to avoid the same downhill path.
"It is not easy for a party in power to celebrate 50 years in government. You look at the parties in Asia — several of them have been in power for a considerable time, but all of them are soul-searching, thinking (about) what must they change, how must they adapt to the future," Lee said at the party's convention Sunday, the English-language Straits Times newspaper reported Monday.
Lee is secretary general of the PAP, which has been in power since 1959.
His speech to about 1,000 party cadres mentioned the recent troubles faced by Japan's LDP and Malaysia's ruling Barisan National coalition.
He said the PAP's commitment to self-renewal has been a key factor preventing it from decaying or stagnating, and allowing it to stay relevant and in power for so long.
"For the LDP, things began to take a turn for the worse in the 1990s when the Japanese economic bubble burst. The electorate started to blame every bad thing that happened — from unemployment to the loss of its self-confidence — on the party," he said.
"This August, it lost at the polls. It had ruled Japan for almost 55 years, save for a break in 1993. But it isn't just that the economy went up and went down. It's more than that. The LDP didn't renew themselves," he said.
Lee said the Japanese system that allowed legislators' children to practically inherit Diet seats from their parents and the long waiting time period before legislators could become ministers made it hard for the LDP to retain and attract talent.
"Now the LDP has lost power but is still finding it difficult to break the old mold," he said, adding that the party needs to "take time to reorganize itself and find new ways to appeal to voters."
Lee said his own party has identified some younger candidates in their 30s and 40s to join his party's slate for the next general election, which is due by February 2012.
The PAP has dominated Singapore's legislature since independence after separation with Malaysia in 1965. It won 82 out of 84 parliamentary seats in the 2006 general elections, or 67 percent of the votes cast.
Lee's father, Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, ruled the city-state with an iron fist for about three decades.
