The Democratic Party’s setback during this month’s legislative election shows that it was out of touch with Hongkongers, an outgoing veteran legislator said on Wednesday morning.
Cheung Man-kwong said the party’s loss of 60,000 votes from the previous election was due partly to the Democrats’ supporting the government’s 2010 political reform package.
The party won six seats in the Legislative Council – down from eight in 2008 – the least since it was founded 18 years ago.
The result shows that the party’s key members are out of touch and that new leaders are needed, Cheung said on a Commercial Radio programme.
He said a new, younger leadership team would help the two-decade-old party reform and “feel closer to the trends of the society”.
Cheung, the former education lawmaker, lost his bid this month for a directly elected seat in Kowloon West.
