Is this 69-year-old jogger and former president the future of Taiwan’s Kuomintang?

Calls have emerged from within the KMT for Ma Ying-jeou to make a comeback to lead the battered organisation back to power

Ma may have the popularity and knowledge to take the helm but the idea reflects the desperate need for young talent within the century-old party, analysts say

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Ma Ying-jeou (centre) takes part in a marathon in 2016. Photo: Facebook

Published: 8:46pm, 13 Jan 2020Updated: 4:37pm, 17 Feb 2020

Can a 69-year-old Hong Kong-born, Harvard-educated former leader who jogs every day resurrect Taiwan’s century-old Kuomintang (KMT) after its defeat in presidential and legislative elections on the weekend?

Sources within the party have suggested that former president Ma Ying-jeou be brought back to lead the KMT to power – thinking that observers said reflected the desperation of the island’s main opposition party.

Just a year or so after scoring big wins against the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in local government polls, the KMT was routed on Saturday, with the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen attracting more than 8 million votes, 2.5 million more than her KMT opponent, populist Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu.

In the legislative race, the DPP also won impressively, winning 61 seats against the KMT’s 38, allowing the ruling party to continue to control the Legislative Yuan.

It was a dramatic turnaround from late 2018, when a jubilant KMT chairman Wu Den-yi led party officials in celebrating the KMT winning control of 15 of the island’s 22 cities and counties.

The unprecedented victory was credited in large part to the then highly popular Han, whose electoral influence buoyed other KMT candidates and helped the party take control of Kaohsiung, a long-time pro-independence stronghold in southern Taiwan.