THE most logical step Tung Chee-hwa could take after the election results are announced tomorrow is to reshuffle his Executive Council. It would be logical because the existing membership was partly determined by the line-up in the now all but defunct provisional legislature, with three members of the interim council being appointed to his inner cabinet so as to facilitate communication between the two bodies.
Even if executive councillor Tam Yiu-chung does manage to win a seat for the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong in New Territories West, the number with dual membership will be down to one after today's polls. The two other members of both bodies, surveyor Leung Chun-ying and industrialist Henry Tang Ying-yen, both chose to duck the chance to contest the elections.
Yet the need for better communication has never been more vital than in the wake of these polls. Even the supposedly rubber-stamp provisional legislature managed to veto the administration's attempts to increase fuel tax and review public housing rents more frequently, despite the presence of three executive councillors among its number. Since the newly elected body is sure to be far more assertive, especially with the return of a large contingent of democrats, there is a real risk it could bring paralysis to the Government's legislative programme.
That is a strong argument for Mr Tung appointing some election victors to his inner cabinet in order to ensure he has at least a core of supporters in the new legislature. And the rebellions by the provisional legislature show the Chief Executive needs, if anything, far more than three such dual members.
In any case, a decisive leader would recognise that the changed political environment in the wake of these polls presents the perfect excuse for reshuffling a body that has so far failed to live up to his expectations. Although Mr Tung believes Hong Kong is not yet ready for a ministerial system, it is clear he originally envisaged his inner cabinet playing a far greater role. That was evident from his pre-handover appointment of three of its members to head task forces on housing, education and the elderly.
But Exco members' attempts to exercise any significant influence were swiftly beaten off by a far better organised civil service and, in recent months, they have increasingly faded from the limelight. Most of Hong Kong would probably see that as a positive development - given the widespread distrust that exists towards many members of the inner cabinet.
