President Ma Ying-jeou has been roundly condemned for his and the government’s lackadaisical attitude to the human suffering caused by Typhoon Morakot.
The lack of empathy shown to victims by Ma and senior Cabinet members in the days after Morakot struck has left a bad taste in the mouth of many that is not likely to fade. This could impact on the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) performance in December’s local elections, not to mention Ma’s chances of re-election in 2012.