The second round of the Moon-Ahn alliance fails

“Why Did Ahn Cheol-soo?,” a book published by the former aides of Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy at the time when he ran for president in 2012, reveals many behind-the-scenes stories on how the presidential candidate was unified in the opposition camp. It said, “After candidate Ahn Cheol-soo gave up the race, the Moon Jae-in camp was confident about the presidential election. When his approval rating dropped significantly a little later, the camp asked Ahn for help. However, it did not try to listen to the value or cause of new politics, which Ahn claimed, and asked Ahn to be a figure head and simply accompany Moon’s election campaign.”

This book also said that the hawkish pro-Roh Moo-hyun faction and Rep. Moon Jae-in are like a small fish in a big pond, believing that they can do everything if they are united. Many of Ahn’s aides have distrust for the pro-Roh faction who tried to hold Ahn responsible for the failure in the presidential race. This is also related to that Ahn declined Moon’s request to take the position as chairman of an organization for innovation surpassing factions. Ahn could not announce the decline immediately on Tuesday when he got the offer because Moon asked him to postpone the announcement until the committee chairman is selected. Ahn sort of saved Moon’s face.

Had Ahn accepted the offer, the second round of alliance between Moon and Ahn could have been materialized this time following the last presidential election. Then, Moon could have beaten the offensive from the non-Roh faction with Ahn’s innovation body and Ahn could have grasp an opportunity to have power within the party as he did as a co-leader of the opposition party last year. It is said that some advised Ahn to increase his weak political presence in the party by reviving the party with Moon.

However, Ahn seems to think that he would be eventually taken advantage of even if he helps Moon who is on the brink of a precipice. He decided not to take the risk of becoming a puppet of an entity whose purpose is to calm the opposition in the party that calls for Moon’s resignation and the elimination of the hegemony of the pro-Roh faction and taking all the responsibilities for failures. This reveals the limitation of Moon’s leadership under which the pro-Roh faction takes everything and asks for help only when it needs help.