A quiet rift is showing between Taiwan's KMT and TPP over how much help Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an will give TPP city council candidates — awkward for both parties as they try to hold a blue-white alliance together.

• Word from the KMT side is that Chiang should appear for TPP candidates as rarely as possible, mainly at joint rallies, and well away from election day.
• Some TPP candidates took that as being cut loose, describing the level of support as charity rather than partnership.
• TPP Taipei council candidate Hsu Fu played it down, saying the number and timing of appearances are not settled and that one lawmaker's opinion got blown out of proportion.
• Not all KMT figures agree — legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin has pushed a "5 plus 1" joint slate in the Songshan-Xinyi district, arguing the two parties can win together rather than split the vote.
• Hsu Fu is leaning on his media background and low unfavorability with swing voters, and has been attacking DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen over a plan to fold shared scooters into the TPASS transit pass.

Outlook: Expect the two parties to paper over the friction publicly while quietly negotiating district-by-district deals as the campaign heats up.