野田新体制―真の「挙党」をめざせ

2011/09/01
--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 31
EDITORIAL: Party solidarity of a much higher order is needed
野田新体制―真の「挙党」をめざせ

New Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Aug. 30 picked Azuma Koshiishi, chairman of the Democratic Party of Japan's Upper House caucus, for the post of party secretary-general.
Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara was chosen to head the party's Policy Research Council.
　野田佳彦新首相は、党幹事長に輿石東参院議員会長を、政調会長に前原誠司前外相を起用する人事を決めた。

Noda must have given much thought to Koshiishi's appointment to the key party post.
　とりわけ意を用いたのは、輿石氏の起用に違いない。

His objective was to seek party unity, as Koshiishi is close to former leader Ichiro Ozawa.
小沢一郎元代表に近い輿石氏を党の要に据えることで、党内融和に踏み出した。

There are two ways to judge Noda's decision.
　この人事の評価基準は二つある。

One concerns the issue of lifting the suspension on Ozawa's party privileges.
ひとつは、輿石氏が公言してきた、小沢氏の党員資格停止処分の解除問題だ。

We see no grounds for doing so now, but what does Noda intend to do?
私たちは、いま解除する根拠はないと考えるが、どうするのか。

Another is whether the appointment of Koshiishi as party secretary-general will help resolve intraparty policy conflicts.
　二つめは政策面の対立解消につなげられるか、どうかだ。

Noda's position, which is to abide by a three-party agreement to review the DPJ manifesto and go for higher taxes, is far removed from Ozawa's, which is to hold fast to the manifesto and avoid tax hikes.
　マニフェスト見直しの３党合意を守り、消費増税にも取り組む野田氏と、マニフェスト固守を唱え、増税を嫌う小沢氏とは距離がある。

It will be Koshiishi's job to help Noda implement his policies while urging Ozawa to go along with the prime minister.
野田氏の政策遂行を支え、小沢氏らに同調を促すのが輿石氏の役割のはずだ。

The significance of the office of the secretary-general of the party lies in the fact that it controls the party's funds and endorses candidates at election times.
　幹事長職が焦点になるのは、党の資金と選挙の公認権を握るからだ。

The DPJ has always gauged its "solidarity" on whether the office comes under the control of the Ozawa group. それを小沢氏側がとるかどうかが「挙党態勢」の試金石のように言われる対応を、いつまで続けるのか。

But it is time for the party to recognize how outdated this setup is, and to outgrow it.
民主党は、その原因が時代遅れの党の体制にあることに気づくべきだ。

All causes of present intraparty conflicts date back to the Ozawa presidency.
　党内対立の原因をたどれば、小沢代表時代までさかのぼる。

Ozawa was making "soshiki taisaku-hi" (party funds for handling various organizational matters) in excess of 2 billion yen available to party executives close to himself.
小沢氏は、２０億円を超す党資金をみずからに近い党役員に「組織対策費」として渡していた。

Since there is no requirement for the recipients of such funds to report how they spend them, the distribution of the money was deemed unfair and aroused bitter objections and suspicions within the party.
使途が明らかにされないため、配分が不公平だといった不満や疑念が党内に噴き出した。

But if the secretary-general is in a position to distribute party funds in such a manner, obviously everyone would want the post.
　こんな資金配分ができるのならば、幹事長職の奪い合いになるのは当然だろう。

The first thing that is needed to realize "party solidarity" is a system of fair management, especially where the handling of party funds is concerned.
　だから「挙党態勢」に必要なのは、第一に資金面を含めた公正な党運営だ。

To put it another way, the DPJ needs to modernize itself into a party that abides by its own rules, rather than one that is controlled by its heavyweights.
要するに時のリーダーに左右される「人治」の政党を、規則に基づく「法治」の党に近代化することだ。

Outgoing Secretary-General Katsuya Okada set the rule that any "soshiki taisaku-hi" exceeding 3 million yen being provided to an individual should be subject to outside audit.
　岡田克也幹事長は、３００万円以上の組織対策費を個人に出す場合、外部監査の対象にすると決めた。

We insist that this rule be spelled out, and that Koshiishi must follow this idea.
このルールを明文化し、輿石氏も継承すべきだ。

Another requirement for the establishment of party solidarity is a system whereby every DPJ lawmaker will participate in policy-making in one way or another.
　第二には、すべての所属議員が何らかの形で政策形成にかかわれるような仕組みにすることだ。

The party has entrusted ultimate policy decisions solely to the Cabinet, and this has aroused the discontent of nongovernment lawmakers who feel their only role is to vote for or against proposed policies.
民主党は内閣に政策決定を一元化してきたが、政府外の議員は採決要員のように扱われているとの不満を募らせた。

In the divided Diet, government bills do not necessarily become law without any modification.
　衆参ねじれの現場では、政府の法案がそのまま成立するとは限らない。

The legislative process should become smoother if ruling party lawmakers collaborate more closely with vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries to negotiate amendments with opposition parties.
もっと与党議員が副大臣や政務官と連携し、野党との修正協議に臨んだ方が合意も得やすいだろう。

Maehara should implement such measures as the party's policy chief.
　政調会長になる前原氏は、そんな改善策を実現すべきだ。

We demand party solidarity of a much higher order than intraparty fighting over the distribution of coveted posts.
　私たちは、グループごとのポスト配分争いより、もっと高い次元の「挙党」を望む。