Inside Track
SO WHO WANTS to become one of Hong Kong's first ministers under Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's new accountability system? A job which is sure to entail being blamed by legislators and the public for all manner of grievances. Not to mention coming under pressure to take a pay cut whenever the economy takes a turn for the worse, and sacrificing any sense of job security.
It hardly sounds an enticing prospect. But now that Mr Tung has given the broad go-ahead in this month's Policy Address for the introduction of a ministerial-like system, it is time to consider how many candidates of the right calibre will actually be interested in taking up such a post.
Mr Tung seems confident there will be no shortage of candidates for these politically appointed positions, which will take over the policy portfolios currently largely held by career civil servants, most likely from next summer onwards. His top aide, Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, said he had 30 to 40 suitable names in mind.
But although Mr Tsang did not say who these were, it seems likely that most, if not all, are people who already serve as Mr Tung's key aides in various capacities, people whose appointment as ministers would simply amount to a slight reshuffling of the Chief Executive's existing team.
And that is scarcely the purpose of the proposed new system - a system which may be ostensibly presented as being about making the top echelons of government more accountable, by introducing a new tier of appointees who are theoretically more easily removable if they make mistakes. But it is also clearly about giving Mr Tung a stronger power base, by bringing in some fresh faces who can rally public support behind his administration.
'He needs people who not only share his vision but also have prestige so that their entry into government will enhance its prestige,' observed Lau Siu-kai of Chinese University. 'If he simply draws on people who are already serving him, it will only make people even more cynical.'
But that is precisely what is now in danger of happening. After all, it is hard to see many talented people being willing to put their reputation at risk by joining the Government. Businessmen would have to give up running their companies to take up what are expected to be full-time posts, and face conflict of interest charges. The Government has made clear it will not be appointing any lawmakers as ministers, apparently for fear of blurring the clear-cut boundaries in the Basic Law between the legislature and the executive.
Of course, there are always some conscientious - and perhaps also politically ambitious - individuals who are prepared to step forward, as shown by Antony Leung Kam-chung's willingness to give up his banking job earlier this year to become Financial Secretary.
But seasoned observers say they will be few in number, especially now that the onset of the recession means the Government is likely to become even more unpopular. 'Antony Leung is a rare species and not indicative of a trend,' observed Professor Lau.
So that may leave Mr Tung with little choice but to fall back on his existing team. And even they may take some persuading, since any civil servant who becomes a political appointee will lose the near-absolute iron rice bowl of job security and find it difficult to resist the mounting pressure for pay cuts among the upper echelons of Government.
Although far from being seen as a move towards greater accountability, the system may end up looking more like a reshuffle of the same old faces.
