鳩山新政権へ―「政権主導」の強い基盤を

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 2(IHT/Asahi: September 3,2009)
EDITORIAL: Message to Hatoyama
鳩山新政権へ―「政権主導」の強い基盤を

Yukio Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, must be feeling like the captain of a ship that is about to encounter tempestuous waters with an awesome cargo.
　民主党の鳩山代表は、途方もない重荷を負って荒海に乗り出す船長の思いではなかろうか。

Hatoyama is to be named prime minister at a special session of the Diet on Sept. 16. He has only until then to fine-tune his DPJ-led administration to give it a firm grip on the reins of government. With no model to go by, he has only a blank canvas to work with.
　特別国会で１６日、首相に選出される。船出までに政権が政治を主導する態勢を築かねばならない。過去にモデルはない。白地に絵を描く作業の始まりである。

Strike while the iron is hot, as the old adage goes.
　鉄は熱いうちに打て、という。

In an opinion poll conducted by The Asahi Shimbun immediately after Sunday's Lower House election, about 70 percent of respondents said they were "glad" of the change of government and pinned their hopes on the new DPJ administration. The figure indicates the former main opposition party's call for change--to end decades of Liberal Democratic Party politics and let the people, rather than bureaucrats, call the shots in policymaking--resonated widely with voters.
　総選挙直後に朝日新聞が行った世論調査では、政権交代を「よかった」、民主党政権に「期待する」と答えた人がともに７割前後に達した。長年の自民党政治を変える、官僚主導から国民主導の政治へ。そうした民主党の訴えに対する熱い思いが読みとれる。

National Strategy Bureau is key
■かぎ握る国家戦略局

How should the DPJ respond to the people's expectations? Most importantly, the party must exercise firm authority over every aspect of government and create a system that will put the right people in the right places to boldly prioritize the party's policies.
　この民意にどう応えるか。まず重要なのは、司令塔として政府全体に号令をかけ、果敢に政策の優先順位を判断していく人事、組織づくりである。

The DPJ aims to integrate the decision-making processes for the Cabinet and the ruling party. And in a departure from the traditional wholesale dumping of work on bureaucrats, the party in power will be responsible for policymaking. In essence, the DPJ aims to radically transform the system of running the government into one that focuses on serving the interests of the nation and its citizens.
　内閣と与党の意思決定のプロセスを一元化する。官僚への丸投げではなく、政権党が責任を持って決める。これが民主党の掲げる政権主導のシステムだ。「国益」「国民益」重視の政権運営の仕組みに根っこから変えていきたいということだろう。

The DPJ plans to appoint about 100 party legislators to government ministries and agencies. They will work with the relevant Cabinet ministers in policymaking, rather than just go along with decisions and proposals made by government officials. In short, the people's elected representatives will make decisions first and then tell bureaucrats what to do.
　そのために、約１００人の与党の国会議員が政府に入って、省庁ごとに大臣を中心にした政治家集団で政策づくりを主導する。官僚のおぜん立てに乗るのではなく、まず政治家が判断し、官僚を動かす。そんなイメージだ。

The National Strategy Bureau that will be created to answer directly to the prime minister will hold the key to the successful functioning of this system under which the administration takes the initiative and reduces dependence on the bureaucracy.
　この「政権主導」「脱・官僚依存」の仕組みを動かす鍵は、新設される首相直属の「国家戦略局」が握る。

By overturning the traditional "bottom-up" budget compilation procedure, directed mainly by Finance Ministry bureaucrats, the new bureau will take a top-down approach, deciding priority policies first. The bureau will also work out a grand design for the nation, including foreign policy.
　これまで財務官僚を中心に下からの積み上げでつくられていた予算編成のプロセスをひっくり返し、優先すべき政策を決め、下へおろす。外交政策など国家ビジョンの策定にもあたる。

This bureau is pivotal to the new administration's decision-making setup with the prime minister at the top of the pyramid.
　首相を頂点にした意思決定の扇のかなめに位置する組織である。

This is probably what is needed today. However, throughout the long years of LDP rule, fiscal decisions were made collectively by the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, whose members included high-profile economists and academics, and the nation's entrenched, mammoth bureaucracy. But with the DPJ now set to undertake the task under an entirely new system, the transition will amount to nothing short of major surgery.
　この方向は時代の要請でもあろう。だが、自民党政権時代は、経済人や学者を交えた経済財政諮問会議や霞が関の巨大な官僚組織が束になって取り組んできた仕事だ。それをまったく新しい組織で動かそうというのだから、大変な大手術になるのは明らかだ。

New political-bureaucratic collaboration
■政官の新たな協働を

This makes the selection of the Cabinet minister in charge of the new National Strategy Bureau all the more critical and tricky. The individual would have to be not only policy savvy, but also be a tough politician capable of overcoming resistance from within and outside the party. And members of the bureau should not be limited to lawmakers alone. The DPJ ought to actively enlist qualified people from the private sector and ensure the bureau is staffed by competent and highly motivated individuals.
　だからこそ、戦略局の担当閣僚の人選は大事であり、難しい。政策に明るいことはもちろん、党内外の抵抗を封じる強力な政治力が求められる。国会議員だけでなく、民間の人材も積極的に登用し、意欲と能力のあるスタッフをそろえるべきだ。

The proposed Administrative Reform Council is to work at eliminating administrative waste and corruption--a major crusade promised by the DPJ. The Cabinet minister in charge of this council will be responsible not only for cutting wasteful spending to secure the funds needed to finance policies, but also for removing voters' long-held mistrust in politics by bringing transparency to politics and administrative matters.
　民主党政権が最重視する行政のムダと不正の排除に取り組む「行政刷新会議」。担当相は財源をひねり出すだけでなく、政治と行政を透明化し、有権者の積年の政治不信をぬぐう任務も負う。

The council will have to produce immediate results if the public is to see any tangible change from the LDP years.
自民党政権時代と何が変わるのか、成果を直ちに出さねばならない。

The finance minister deals directly with the nation's fiscal policy. The foreign minister directs diplomatic negotiations while coordinating the opinions of his party and the ruling coalition. The chief Cabinet secretary is the administration's linchpin. Any bad decision in the selection of people for these key Cabinet posts will immediately bring the new administration to a grinding halt.
　財政政策を直接仕切る財務相。党内や連立与党を調整しつつ、外交交渉の先頭に立つ外相。政府のかなめを握る官房長官。これら主要閣僚の人選にしくじれば、新政権はすぐにも立ち往生してしまうだろう。

Since the Cabinet members are the main pillars to support the administration's foundations, it should adopt a long-range strategy for selection of members so as to avoid mid-term replacements.
　政権の屋台骨を支える閣僚については、基本的に途中で交代させないという長期戦略も必要ではないか。

It is also crucial that a lively, cooperative relationship be established between the administration and the bureaucracy.
　官僚機構との間に、活力に富んだ協力関係を築くことも重要である。

While it is obvious that the people's elected representatives should lead politics, their numbers are limited, and they cannot be expected to be responsible for everything.
　政治主導は当然のことだが、限られた数の政治家がすべてを担うわけにはいかない。

Bureaucrats with a wealth of knowledge and experience are professionals in planning and implementing policies. Without drawing upon their expertise and relying on their support, the administration will have little chance of being able to run the nation efficiently.
　官僚は、知識と経験を兼ね備えた政策の企画や執行のプロ集団だ。政権の下支えとしてその力を引き出せなければ、政権運営はとてもおぼつかない。

We also have requests to make of our government officials. They are rightfully proud of having supported the nation's postwar prosperity and looked out for the national interest. We want them to live up to their pride in the service of the new administration. They should advise the new political leaders on how to run the government fairly and efficiently, and stop them if they start grandstanding. Why not prove their mettle by giving the bureaucracy a "new face"?
　官僚の側にも注文がある。戦後の日本の繁栄を支え、国益を担ってきたという自負を、新しい政治の枠組みの中で生かしてもらいたい。公平で効率的な行政のあり方を進言し、政権が人気取りに走ろうとすれば歯止めをかける。そんな新しい「官」の姿をつくる気概を見せてはどうか。

Party unity is everything
■党の結束あってこそ

We also have something we want the DPJ's 140-plus rookie legislators to think about. That is, what do the people who elected them and orchestrated this change of government expect of the DPJ?
　１４０人を超える民主党の新人議員たちにも考えてほしいことがある。皆さんを当選させ、政権交代を実現させた民意は、民主党に何を期待しているのかをである。

Many ruling party legislators will not be placed in government ministries and agencies, but we expect them to speak out as responsible politicians and actively involve themselves in the policymaking process to reflect the will of the people.
　政府に加わらない多くの与党議員たちにも、政治家として自らの責任で発言し、政策づくりのプロセスに意見を反映させるべく、大いに行動してもらいたい。

At the same time, every DPJ legislator must fully recognize his or her responsibility to honor any decision made by the ruling party. They must strictly avoid any inappropriate word or action that will unnecessarily fragment the party's power, which is given by the people.
　だが、同時に、政権党として決めた結論には自らも責任を負うことをしっかり認識する必要がある。民意によって与えられたパワーをいたずらに分散させることがあってはならない。

Perhaps the person who understands this best is Ichiro Ozawa, the party's acting president who effectively directed the Lower House election campaign.
　そのことを一番身に染みて感じているのは、今回の選挙戦を事実上、指揮した小沢一郎代表代行かもしれない。

Ozawa personally engineered the birth of the Morihiro Hosokawa administration 16 years ago, but it did not last even a year. One major reason for its collapse lay in the fact that it was a cobbled-together alliance of as many as seven parties and a group that could not stay united.
　１６年前、自ら主導してつくった細川政権が短期間で崩壊したのは、八つもの政党・会派が寄り集まった与党内の結束の乱れが大きな原因だった。

With a court hearing coming up for Ozawa's aide who was arrested for his alleged role in the illegal donations from Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ozawa is expected to decline a Cabinet posting for now and continue as the party's campaign guru.
　西松建設からのダミー献金事件で秘書の公判を控えていることもあって、小沢氏は今回は閣内に入らず、引き続き党で選挙対策を担う考えのようだ。

But whether Ozawa will remain acting president or accept the post of secretary-general, we hope he will make full use of his power and experience in consolidating leadership of Hatoyama as prime minister.
　代表代行のままなのか、幹事長に就くのか。いずれにせよ、その力と経験を「鳩山首相」の指導力の確立に大いに役立ててほしい。

It will be no easy task to keep a mammoth ruling party together. But if the DPJ proves incapable of it, the party will have betrayed the people who chose to entrust their nation to a new administration in the face of formidable challenges.
　巨大与党を結束させていくのは容易なことではない。だが、それができなければ、大変な課題を前に新しい政治に託した民意に背くことになる。