The ugly infighting that has been unfolding in the ruling camp ― namely the Blue House and the Saenuri Party ― is sickening the nation, which is already depressed by the economic slump and the effects of the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak.

The internal feud, which was touched off by a conflict between President Park Geun-hye and Saenuri floor leader Yoo Seong-min, is now on the verge of an all-out war between the pro-Park and non-Park factions in the ruling party.

Put simply, the ruling camp is embroiled in an intense internal power struggle at a time when the nation is agonizing over a horde of hardships for which strong political leadership is essential.

By all appearances, the confrontation between Park and Yoo exposes many disgusting aspects of politics. The first is that two figures who were once so close ― to the degree that Yoo served as the chief of staff to Park when she was head of the conservative party in 2005 ― have turned their backs on each other.

We know that in politics, friends and comrades can become enemies at any time, but seeing the way Yoo challenged his former boss and Park retaliated leaves a bitter taste, all the more so because one is the president and the other is the floor leader of the ruling party who we should be able to expect to work together in running the nation.

Yoo cannot avoid the blame for setting off the turmoil. After his election as Saenuri floor leader, he openly challenged Park and her policies. What invoked Park’s simmering anger was Yoo’s rejection of Park’s plea not to tie the civil service pension reform to a revision bill to the National Assembly Law, which allows the parliament to demand changes to enforcement ordinances written by the government.

Exercising her right to veto the bill, Park accused Yoo of pursuing his own political interests without considering the interests of the nation and the people who elected lawmakers. She termed his actions as the “politics of betrayal.” She was virtually demanding Yoo step down as floor leader.

There are some grounds for Park’s frustration with Yoo. Any president would not be able to endure a floor leader of the ruling party who behaves like an opposition member. It is also not entirely wrong to accuse Yoo of seeking to increase his political influence and reputation by criticizing the president. He went up by two notches to take fourth place in the popular ratings for potential presidential candidates from the conservative ruling party.

Nevertheless, Park’s reactions, especially her public attack on Yoo ― she used an open meeting with her Blue House aides to launch the offensive ― and the demand that he resign make little sense. One cannot but question the president’s leadership if she cannot persuade or embrace even the floor leader of the ruling party, let alone members of the opposition.

Moreover, it is improper for the president to demand the resignation of the floor leader, who is elected through a direct vote by party lawmakers.

As one who has spent many years in party politics, Park should know that the floor leader’s legitimacy cannot be subject to challenge without good reason. This raises the speculation that Park and her associates in the party are seeking to use the Yoo case as a momentum for restoring their power.

This seems plausible, considering the pro-Park faction has been relegated to a minor group, having lost successive major contests to non-Parks, including for the party leader, candidate for Seoul mayor, the Assembly speaker and the floor leader. Park’s attack on Yoo is rallying the pro-Parks to mount calls for him to step down.

It saddens us that we have to drudge on with this president and these ruling party members for whom personal vendettas and factional hegemony come ahead of leading the nation.