To run, or not to run? That should not be too difficult a question. But the few tipped to be front runners in the race to become the city's next leader like to keep people guessing. The chief executive election is just six months away. None of the likely candidates has yet declared. Instead we have endured a phoney war which has dragged on far too long.
Every utterance from these apparent hopefuls has been closely scrutinised by the media for hints as to whether they will stand or not. Each sound bite has been the subject of all manner of interpretations. There is a danger that the public will develop election fatigue before campaigning has even begun.
Only 1,200 of our seven million people will be able to compete in this election. And, if history is any guide, most of them will opt for whichever candidate is perceived to be Beijing's preferred choice.
But the election should, nonetheless, be one in which the community is engaged. Public opinion should weigh on the minds of Election Committee members when they cast their vote. The first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, and his successor Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, were both popular when they took over the helm. But their popularity waned as time went on. It would not be good to have a leader who is unpopular from the start.
Candidates should make their manifestos public as soon as possible. That way, the issues can be debated and we will have a better idea of what to expect when the new chief executive is elected.
After months of cryptic comments, former Legco president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai appears to have talked herself out of the race, paving the way for Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen to come forward. There is a suggestion that he may resign as early as today, after Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying made clear he had no plan to bow out. Minister-turned legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan may also join the fray. The sooner we know who is standing - and what they stand for - the better.
