Negotiations between Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) over cooperation in the Zhubei mayoral election have broken down, a setback for the KMT's prospects in the 2026 local elections.

• Blue-White coordination in the Zhubei mayoral race has collapsed. The TPP had assumed the seat would be contested by its own candidate, but the KMT put forward a candidate as well.
• Ko Wen-je pointed to the issue of good faith, arguing that the two parties must be able to trust each other before any cooperation on grand strategy can be discussed.
• The situation in Changhua is already difficult to salvage, and now trouble has emerged in Hsinchu; the breakdown could continue to spread to Yilan and New Taipei.
• TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang and KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun have both struck a hard line so far, and are being urged to clean up the mess as soon as possible.

Outlook: If the two party chairs fail to put out the fire in time, Blue-White antagonism could widen to more counties and cities, making the 2026 campaign even harder going for the KMT.