LDP proposes, DPJ disposes — again.
As MTC points out, the LDP did the exact same thing in introducing the nomination of Tanami Koji as it did with the nomination of Muto Toshiro: it failed to consult with the DPJ beforehand.
Indeed, showing that it has learned absolutely nothing and suggesting that the government is in fact not above playing politics, it submitted, in the words of Hatoyama Yukio, DPJ secretary-general, a man with the "same career history as Mr. Muto."
Little wonder that the DPJ has rejected this latest, feeble effort to avoid a vacancy in the leadership of the BOJ.
While the DPJ has once again stated that the reason for the rejection is fears about the independence of the BOJ from the Ministry of Finance, this fight is not about central bank independence. It is about the LDP's persistent inability to come to terms with the idea that the Diet is divided and that it needs to consult with the DPJ beforehand, especially in cases like this in which it has no recourse to the Article 59 override used in the MSDF refueling mission case.
Heading into the midst of the worst economic conditions since World War II without a central banker may be harrowing, but maybe it will be the only way the government will learn that treating the opposition with condescension doesn't work when the opposition has a major stake in the policymaking process. For all the complaints about DPJ intransigence, the government bears much of the blame for a failure to find a way to compete short of mutually assured destruction or cooperate short of a grand coalition.
As MTC points out, the LDP did the exact same thing in introducing the nomination of Tanami Koji as it did with the nomination of Muto Toshiro: it failed to consult with the DPJ beforehand.
Indeed, showing that it has learned absolutely nothing and suggesting that the government is in fact not above playing politics, it submitted, in the words of Hatoyama Yukio, DPJ secretary-general, a man with the "same career history as Mr. Muto."
Little wonder that the DPJ has rejected this latest, feeble effort to avoid a vacancy in the leadership of the BOJ.
While the DPJ has once again stated that the reason for the rejection is fears about the independence of the BOJ from the Ministry of Finance, this fight is not about central bank independence. It is about the LDP's persistent inability to come to terms with the idea that the Diet is divided and that it needs to consult with the DPJ beforehand, especially in cases like this in which it has no recourse to the Article 59 override used in the MSDF refueling mission case.
Heading into the midst of the worst economic conditions since World War II without a central banker may be harrowing, but maybe it will be the only way the government will learn that treating the opposition with condescension doesn't work when the opposition has a major stake in the policymaking process. For all the complaints about DPJ intransigence, the government bears much of the blame for a failure to find a way to compete short of mutually assured destruction or cooperate short of a grand coalition.
2 comments:
Heading into the midst of the worst economic conditions since World War II without a central banker may be harrowing
And it may not be - the market reacted positively today, we'll have an interim governor there for the time being (who's competent), and let's face it: since when the Governor of the BOJ matter anyway?
Has the DPJ proposed a man for the job? The way I see it, the opposition keeps on blocking BOJ nominees without proposing an alternative.
If they really care about the BOJ post, why don't they do their part by suggesting names? Or are they just playing politics?
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