After the LDP’s trouncing in last weekend’s upper house elections, there have been calls from all corners for PM Abe’s resignation.
Abe refused to entertain any notion of quitting directly following what is held to be one of the LDP’s biggest electoral disasters.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, I suppose. Abe has supported many ministers who, had they been members of other administrations, would have been forced to resign. He gave his full support to scandal-hit former agriculture minister Matsuoka in the face of calls to quit. Matsuoka later committed suicide. He initially decided a slap on the wrist was the ideal course of action to deal with former minister Kyuma, over the latter’s comments on the second world war atomic bombings. Despite his boss’s backing, Kyuma announced his resignation days later. And of course Norihiko Akagi is still a government minister despite 3 (count ‘em) expenses scandals in the run-up to the election.
The Asahi Shinbun noted with relish that after such a rejection, the usual form would be for the PM to resign. Meanwhile the Mainichi and the Nikkei called for a dissolution of parliament and a general election.
A Sunday exit poll of voters revealed that 56% thought he should go. This led to further criticism when it was revealed he had no intention of doing so. His opponents had at least waited until the results were in before calling for his head, but they didn’t waste too much time before sticking the boot in.
So what odds will you give me on Mr Abe lasting out the summer as PM? Anyone want to take my money?
correct if I’m wrong overoften,I recall reading yesterday (somewhere) that it was uncommon for Prime Minister’s to resign after being defeated in an Upper House election.
*I suppose I’ll have to go and find the damned aricle again - drat!*
rem.
Well, Ryutaro Hashimoto resigned in 1998 in just such circumstances.
But aside from that, an interesting thing to note is that those people who were polled about whether he should go or not were also asked whether they thought the Minshuto (DPJ) were a decent alternative. Only 4% said yes. So despite almost no one seeing them as no better, they’re still prepared to vote them in.
That’s about as harsh a rejection as you can get. That’s not a call for policy change. That’s pointing to the door.
“no better”?? Good god. Sorry about that.
“Any better”, of course.
the job of prime minister of Japan has always seemed to me to be a thankless sort of task.
In the area of politics the Japanese can be fairly unforgiving ungrateful wretches…(other than that they are quite pleasant peaceful people!).