Sharing the secret of his success as former mayor of New York, in the book Leadership, Rudolph Giuliani underscored the importance of keeping matters of life and death close to the heart. He meant what he said. Show up at funerals, he wrote.
The wisdom of the charismatic former mayor seemingly hasn't been lost on Donald Tsang Yam-kuen as he embarked on the campaign trail for the post of chief executive.
On Wednesday night, Mr Tsang squeezed time out of his tight campaign schedule to pay his respects to the late father of pro-Beijing leader Tsang Yok-sing at the Hong Kong Funeral Parlour in North Point.
The show of sympathy and respect to a veteran pro-Beijing figure by Mr Tsang came on the eve of the formal beginning of his campaign yesterday.
Thirteen days after he resigned from the post of chief secretary, the central government yesterday morning announced his resignation was approved. Hours later, Mr Tsang held a press conference to unveil his blueprint for ruling Hong Kong.
Coming on the eve of a fortnight-long nomination period, the campaign launch will, in effect, mark the beginning of the end of an election for a caretaker chief executive to succeed Tung Chee-hwa after his premature departure in mid-March.
But it still remains a crucial time for the aspiring leader. Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, a seasoned political analyst who sits on the Election Committee representing the higher education sub-sector, said that the issue for Mr Tsang was not winning, but the campaign itself.
