The agenda after the impeachment

FOR South Korea, a democracy not yet three decades old, the impeachment on December 9th of its unloved president, Park Geun-hye, was the culmination of a remarkable few weeks of participatory politics. As Ms Park sank ever deeper into an influence-peddling scandal involving a former confidante, millions joined protests and called on their MPs to oust her. Four-fifths of South Koreans demanded her eviction; four-fifths of parliamentarians gave them what they wanted.The result suspends Ms Park’s powers, over a year before her term ends (see ). But already the consensus that produced it is cracking. The verdict has riven Ms Park’s Saenuri party—half of whose MPs were among the 234 who voted to impeach her. Saenuri’s floor leader abruptly resigned this week; the party may split as it tries to reinvent itself. The opposition, which controls parliament, wants to ditch deals made by Ms Park’s conservative administration, and threatens to hobble the unpopular prime minister and acting president, Hwang Kyo-ahn. That would be a mistake. Instead, politicians need to put policy ahead of politicking.