As discussions over political reform intensify ahead of Thursday’s opening of the next session of parliament, the handling of corporate donations is poised to emerge as a major battleground between the parties.
While they might be able to find middle ground over other items in the agenda, deep-seated bipartisan divisions over the handling of corporate donations suggest the road to a compromise on this topic before the end of the year remains difficult at best.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party — weakened after it lost its majority in the Lower House in the Oct. 27 general election — has displayed strong resistance toward long-standing opposition calls to abolish the endowments. The party has long maintained that an abolition of corporate donations would significantly curtail the political freedom of the private sector.