CHIEF EXECUTIVE Tung Chee-hwa's popularity rose somewhat immediately after his re-election was declared in February. Apparently Hong Kong people believed that as the die had been cast, they might as well hope that the administration could deliver.
After all, they trusted the political parties even less. In general, new leaders get a 'honeymoon' period when the media and public consider it unfair to criticise them as they need time to get their act together.
However, Mr Tung visited the Legislative Council shortly before its summer recess and appealed for more time because it would be difficult to turn the tide on the economy and unemployment within one or two years. On the basis of limited polls, the community did not respond favourably.
The reasons are simple. This is Mr Tung's second term, not his first. When it was clear that half of the Hong Kong people did not support his re-election, Mr Tung did not even bother to prepare a policy platform for his campaign.
He did not have anything to offer when he introduced his new team of ministers nor in his inaugural speech. He even postponed the first policy address of his second term from early October to January next year.
Further, the economic situation is deteriorating. If the government has a clear-cut plan for economic recovery, asking people to wait for results may still be reasonable. Now the unemployment rate has been rising and breaking records every month, the real-estate market and stock market remain depressed, exports have fallen and the US economy is not likely to rebound this year. No wonder Hong Kong people are getting impatient.