Tenpence | We deserve a good show

Daniel Beitler

This August will stage my first Chief Executive election, having arrived in Macau four years ago. Of course, like most of you, I am just an observer. All of the candidates have already been decided and I am not one of the 400-few to wield a vote. But if we are all just observers, don’t we at least deserve a good show?

In February, with a nod and a wink, incumbent Legislative Assembly President Ho Iat Seng said he was giving great consideration to his possible candidacy. After consulting with his friends and peers – who, as it turned out, were all equally enthusiastic about the idea of him becoming the next Chief Executive – Ho confirmed his bid in April with a vague livelihood manifesto and a promise of more to come soon.

For a while, it seemed Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong would submit his own candidacy and disrupt a pattern of unchecked nominees. He compared favorably with his peers; more approachable than Rosário and Chan, but less jovial than Tam.

As a viable contender, Leong held the potential to kickstart the first real race in Macau electoral history, even if it would still be confined to the narrow pro-establishment spectrum.

The two candidates presented a choice between aristocracy and meritocracy. They had long been touted as favorites to succeed Chui Sai On, whose second term in office seems destined to fizzle out without anyone much noticing or caring.

The race could have been a nod to the so- called system of elite democracy, where the trusted few are permitted to choose their representative from a tightly-controlled candidate pool. It would have been a small step forward for democracy in Macau, bringing manifestos, campaign pledges, accountability – and choice! – for the first time in a generation.

But then Leong withdrew, conceding the next five years (or more) to his opponent.

What to make of Ho, our only remaining candidate? His critics say he lacks the executive experience to be competent in the role, one of the four official requirements. But it is worth remembering that administrative competence is no guarantee that resources won’t be squandered, nor that critical public services can be managed well. It is also no guarantee that the interests of Macau and the country will be served above that of the individual. And Ho’s lack of executive experience probably won’t matter all that much if he is to be sandwiched, above and below, by those who do have the necessary experience and will be happy to lend a hand. As one political commentator recently remarked, in Macau, “it is better to know people than know how to read and write.”

Far more interesting than Ho opting in is Leong deciding to pull out, and specifically what it reveals about the political machinations of the Macau SAR. Had he known the Macau interests would shift so decisively in favor of Ho, it is unlikely Leong would have put his name forward in the first place. So where did his confidence come from – inside or out?

Thinking about the Ho versus Leong showdown these past few weeks, for some reason I can’t help but invoke Brad Pitt’s Achilles in the 2004 historical epic Troy, who after defeating his opponent mockingly calls out, ‘is there no one else?’. Wouldn’t it be something to say that this election invoked Tyler Durden of Fight Club instead – “how much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?”

In the end, the fight was cancelled and the show substituted for the same old joke: 400 electors thinking very carefully about who should get their vote.