Opinion | Car crash scandal complicates leadership transition
Emerging details of Beijing car crash in March have served to complicate an already uncertain picture after Bo Xilai's downfall
As a popular Chinese idiom goes, misfortune never comes alone. On March 15, the Communist Party leadership sacked Bo Xilai from his position as party chief of Chongqing, bringing to the public's attention one of the biggest political crises to beset the party in a decade.
Three days later, an accident in Beijing, involving a Ferrari, the son of one of the mainland's most powerful officials and two young, ethnic-minority girls, served as a double whammy to the party's leadership.
The political ramifications from the twin scandals have added intrigue and additional complications to the party's once-in-a-decade leadership reshuffle scheduled for the 18th Party Congress. The opening date of the congress hasn't been officially announced, but analysts expect it to start in the second half of next month.
Despite strong reactions from within the party, Chinese leaders seem to have decided to sweep the crash under the carpet, presumably because the party can't afford another major scandal made public so close to the leadership transition.
Saturday's announcement that Ling Jihua had been appointed to head the United Front Work Department served as a strong indication that Hu wants to engineer a "soft landing" for his protégé, but it also means that the prospects of Ling securing a seat on the Politburo have dimmed greatly.
Until Saturday, Ling was the head of the General Office of the Communist Party - equivalent to the job of chief of staff to the American president. He had complete control of access to Hu's office and set his agenda. Before the crash, he was even considered a strong candidate to the join the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee.
