Prime Minister Taro Aso has flip-flopped again, this time over the privatization of the nation's postal services. As prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi had exploited this as the main issue in the September 2005 Lower House election, enabling the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito to grab more than two-thirds of the chamber's seats. Mr. Aso should be aware that flip-flopping now will further lower his credibility as the nation's leader.
On Feb. 5, he told the Lower House Budget Committee that he was against the privatization, although he joined other Koizumi Cabinet ministers in endorsing bills related to the privatization in 2005 and again later that year in accepting Mr. Koizumi's decision to dissolve the Lower House after the Upper House had voted down the privatization bills. At the time, Mr. Aso was internal affairs and communications minister, who oversaw postal services.
One might wonder why, if Mr. Aso is a man of principle, he didn't say "No!" at that time. He should remember that most of the LDP politicians who elected him as prime minister had been elected to the Lower House in 2005 on a platform calling for the privatization. This shows that the opinions of his supporters differ significantly from his over a key issue.