Severo Portela
There has been a sudden change this summer; almost all established civic associations and local heavyweights (an informal designation given to political figures in positions of power) seem to have found the button to refresh their respective lists of candidates for their September 17 direct elections to the Legislative Assembly (AL). This is the kind of change nobody would dare to seriously question, let alone argue against: to replace the old with the new, from those who have given years of service to those who are presumably ready to transform, to innovate and instigate change, is common sense. However, the MSAR has developed ways to challenge and subvert straightforward propositions during this handover process, sometimes to the point where the proposition has been changed so drastically that it becomes the opposite of its earlier draft.
The conservative pundits and players, sometimes called by the petit nom of traditionalists, have long been protecting political inertia by citing their belief that new (political) talent is a scarce commodity in the Special Administrative Region.
From here, let us try to follow the peculiar syllogisms and particular reasoning of the scarcity of political talent argument as both the basis to refresh and to not refresh. Without giving a thought to the possibility of the old political talent pool as not being so talented, we now consider the call to bring new faces to the AL floor. While stating the almost imperative obligation to rejuvenate the lists of candidates, at the same time, they are wondering whether the refreshment will represent an objective impoverishment of the political debate at the Legislative Assembly. That is to say we are going from scarcity as insufficiency to scarcity as inadequacy!
But things can and do get worse. Not only is there the negative perception of a youth-led organization comprised of inexperienced legislators at the Nam Van Lake, but there is also the preemptive assumption that the AL’s capacity to make sound decisions has been downgraded. These perceptions are being highlighted to elliptically justify the option of offering tutelage dressed as electoral law. On closer examination, this tutelage makes a mockery of a genuine electoral framework. And here we go from minus to hellish in two strokes.
There is a strong possibility that pro-democrats will be running under New Macau Association’s leadership ticket: Sulu Sou and Chan Wai Chi, and split-listed Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San, will find themselves out of the Legislative Assembly. Even veteran Lawmaker Pereira Coutinho is in dire straits to keep his own seat, let alone his second.
Of course, there is nobody irreplaceable in the direct-elected benches. But what will the noble house look like without a democrat voice? Perhaps, it will take the shape of corporative get-together…with a possibility of entertainment.
Final notes on the disclosure of a Civil Watch political candidate: speculations are taking into consideration Civil Watch’s diluted political program and their connection to the Chinese People´s Political Conference in Hebei. Once believed to be an advocate for the alternative pro-democracy element, Agnes Lam delivered a proposal with eight major topics, like environment and health, to improve Macau. She is running high with the professional sectors that are willing to cooperate to introduce “evidence-based opinions”.
Finally, believing that evidence-based opinions are the best, we are waiting for the decision Secretary Sonia Chan will make on Nine´s (9) proposal to overcome the Land Law and consider the Pearl Horizon a “special situation”. Chan’s decision will determine whether the term “special situation” will mean that those responsible for Pearl Horizon have eluded any legal recourse.
