Tension between acting Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and the pro-Beijing camp has surged after a DAB lawmaker criticised him as being arrogant and disrespectful of patriotic values.
Choy So-yuk said Mr Tsang, tipped as Beijing's favourite candidate for chief executive, was just lucky Beijing changed its policy on Hong Kong.
'If Tung Chee-hwa stepped down one year earlier, [Financial Secretary] Henry Tang [Ying-yen] might have got the top job,' she said.
The open attack from the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong has raised doubts whether Mr Tsang could muster the pro-Beijing camp's backing.
Ms Choy, speaking on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong, said there seemed to be a cultural gap and emotional distance between Mr Tsang and the patriotic forces.
'He was viewed by some in the pro-Beijing camp as arrogant and disrespectful of the patriotic values they cherished over the decades and paid dearly for. His elevation alienated quite a few in this camp.'
She said Mr Tsang, knighted by the British before the handover, was an 'also-ran' candidate.
