Find an issue that could get the ruling party worked up.
This is obvious because not one but three MPs (including Prime Minister Lee) rebutted Low after his speech.
1) Senior Minister of State for Education and Law Indranee Rajah:
“Constructive politics is putting Singaporeans at the heart of what we do by, first, offering practical alternatives; second, acknowledging trade-offs and being responsible. It means not flip-flopping when convenient”.
2) Sembawang GRC MP Vikram Nair:
“It would be tragic if the focus was on politics and not policies that help people. Constructive politics is about working together and not bringing down people who are trying to solve the problem”.
3) PM Lee in his Facebook post:
“Constructive politics is key to realising our dreams. The purpose of politics is to make a difference to people’s lives, to build a better Singapore. Politics purely for the sake of power, without any notion of what we want Singapore to become, will lead us to disaster”
Provide a coherent alternative to the ruling party’s narrative
The ruling party’s narrative is in President Tan’s address, which is to “maintain constructive politics that puts our nation and our people first”. The address does not however propose how the ideal of “constructive politics” could be achieved.
Low has clearly defined his interpretation of constructive politics. In fact he has laid a roadmap (political values, political culture, impartial institutions) to achieve this objective.
However, none of the PAP MPs have provided a coherent counterpoint to Low’s speech. Instead, they provided hints of what constructive politics is not.
For instance, PM Lee said that constructive politics is NOT about power. SMS Indranee said that constructive politics “should NOT be purely opportunistic, NOT populist”.
http://mothership.sg/2014/05/low-th...again-can-he-repeat-his-magic-in-the-next-ge/
This is obvious because not one but three MPs (including Prime Minister Lee) rebutted Low after his speech.
1) Senior Minister of State for Education and Law Indranee Rajah:
“Constructive politics is putting Singaporeans at the heart of what we do by, first, offering practical alternatives; second, acknowledging trade-offs and being responsible. It means not flip-flopping when convenient”.
2) Sembawang GRC MP Vikram Nair:
“It would be tragic if the focus was on politics and not policies that help people. Constructive politics is about working together and not bringing down people who are trying to solve the problem”.
3) PM Lee in his Facebook post:
“Constructive politics is key to realising our dreams. The purpose of politics is to make a difference to people’s lives, to build a better Singapore. Politics purely for the sake of power, without any notion of what we want Singapore to become, will lead us to disaster”
Provide a coherent alternative to the ruling party’s narrative
The ruling party’s narrative is in President Tan’s address, which is to “maintain constructive politics that puts our nation and our people first”. The address does not however propose how the ideal of “constructive politics” could be achieved.
Low has clearly defined his interpretation of constructive politics. In fact he has laid a roadmap (political values, political culture, impartial institutions) to achieve this objective.
However, none of the PAP MPs have provided a coherent counterpoint to Low’s speech. Instead, they provided hints of what constructive politics is not.
For instance, PM Lee said that constructive politics is NOT about power. SMS Indranee said that constructive politics “should NOT be purely opportunistic, NOT populist”.
http://mothership.sg/2014/05/low-th...again-can-he-repeat-his-magic-in-the-next-ge/
