Liu announced Monday afternoon his entire team would leave Thursday, surprising observers who had only expected him to announce a limited personnel reshuffle.

The Presidential Office later named Wu, who currently combines the positions of ruling Kuomintang vice chairman, secretary general and lawmaker, as the next premier amid criticism from the opposition he was the wrong man for the job.

Leaders of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party described Wu as a party apparatchik and a hardliner, predicting confrontation at the Legislative Yuan.

DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen also questioned the ability of Wu and his new vice premier, Taoyuan County Magistrate Eric Liluan Chu, to lead a national government, since neither of them had experience in a Cabinet role.

Wu served as Nantou County magistrate and mayor of Kaohsiung, while Chu led Taoyuan County for nearly eight years.

DPP lawmakers also saw him as a “lonely bird” within his own party, a man without connections who often came across as aloof and confrontational. The choice of Wu would lead to strained relations between KMT and DPP at the Legislative Yuan, while the new premier might find it hard to put the party interest below the national interest, opposition lawmakers said.

KMT legislator Wu Ching-chih countered that some people didn’t like Wu because he was unwilling to betray his principles and make compromises. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng said only his performance as premier mattered.

Chen Chu, a prominent DPP member who as mayor of Kaohsiung has the right to attend Cabinet meetings, said Wu’s past as her predecessor in the 1990s could make him more aware of issues important to the South.

Reporters questioned the future relationship between the new premier and his vice premier as the latter scored higher in an opinion poll published by the pro-government Chinese-language United Daily News Tuesday.

President Ma Ying-jeou received an approval rating of 34 percent and Wu achieved 41 percent, while Chu towered over both with 53 percent, according to the paper.

Responding to reporters’ questions about the poll, Chu said his personal career was not important as the country was facing the aftermath of the typhoon and the global economic crisis.

Legislative Speaker Wang said Chu rated higher because he had enjoyed greater visibility as a local government chief. The poll results applied to their past performance, not to their new roles in the Cabinet, Wang said.

Wu reportedly held three hours of talks with Ma Monday night to discuss his choices, with media speculation rife about who would keep their posts and who would be replaced.

Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang visited the premier-designate at KMT headquarters Tuesday. If Yaung was not reappointed, he would become one of the most short-lived Cabinet members ever, holding office for only 36 days, reports said.

When reporters asked Wu whether he would keep Yaung, Transportation Minister Mao Chi-kuo, Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang and Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan, the premier-designate replied he could not give a denial.

In separate appointments, Vice Interior Minister Lin Chung-sen was confirmed as Cabinet secretary general. He served as Wu’s deputy when the latter was mayor of Kaohsiung.

At the KMT, Wu would be succeeded as secretary general by his predecessor, Presidential Secretary-General Chan Chuen-po, party chairman Wu Poh-hsiung told reporters.

Outgoing Interior Minister Liao Liou-yi was rumored as the choice for new presidential secretary-general.

The new premier’s first dilemma might be whether or not to resubmit the central government budget for approval by the Legislative Yuan. The DPP said a new Cabinet should not work on the basis of a budget and program submitted by its predecessors.

Senior KMT lawmaker Lin Yi-shih said the ruling party should study the precedent set during the period of DPP government in 2001, when a similar situation happened. A new Cabinet put forward a “reconsidered” version of the original budget to the Legislative Yuan, Lin said.