Pro-junta party waters down Pheu Thai win in Northeast

By The Nation

 

Pheu Thai executive members

 

THE GOVERNMENT’S populist policies and staunch support has helped pro-junta Phalang Pracharat snatch votes from the Shinawatra-backed Pheu Thai in the Northeast, a scholar from Mahasarakham University said yesterday.
 

Though Pheu Thai still dominated the region with 3.7 million votes, its impact was diluted by newcomers like Phalang Pracharat, which won 2.2 million votes, and Future Forward, which got 1.4 million votes. 

 

Some former Pheu Thai MPs lost their constituencies to Phalang Pracharat, because the voters were clearly impressed with the junta’s welfare projects for the poor, Somchai Pratrataranant said. Besides, he said, younger people in the Northeast obviously preferred Future Forward, which reflects a positive trend that voters are now considering policies and political platforms rather than just economic interest. 

 

The Northeast has always been regarded as an area where votes can be bought, but, he said, this new trend suggests that maybe this is no longer the case. Also, he added, Pheu Thai’s red-shirt movement – which had a strong support in the Northeast – has also been weakened in the five years under the military junta.

 

Apart from that, he said, Phalang Pracharat also benefited from the privileges embedded in junta’s newly designed electoral system, not to mention its populist policies for the poor. 

 

“People who voted for this party obviously want to see General Prayut Chan-o-cha return as PM,” Somchai said. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30366535

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-26

3 hours ago, webfact said:

 

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The Northeast has always been regarded as an area where votes can be bought,

The junta did not buy votes before election???????????????????

13 minutes ago, Chassa said:

 

The junta did not buy votes before election???????????????????

As the little general would say, "no Thai would do that" 

Populist policies and vote buying.

 

The junta returning happiness to the people.

 

Yet the justification for the coup was to eradicate those things.

 

Still, lying is what they do best.

Maybe some people finally realized that voting for the criminal fugitive and his minions again and again will never bring peace and prosperity to Thailand.

Its all over SM here blokes in the same shirts buying votes caught on camera maybe he hasn't got the internet down his way????

The problem with supporting Pheua Thai or the red shirts in the past has always been that they were the lackeys of Thaksin, not an independent thought in their bones. Hopefully Future Forward will change all that.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Northeast has always been regarded as an area where votes can be bought

It seems other parties finally understood that this is the way the northeast has been condiditoned before

 

If it does not help to appeal to  intellect and morale - what else can they do?

 

51 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe some people finally realized that voting for the criminal fugitive and his minions again and again will never bring peace and prosperity to Thailand.

Of course there will be no peace and they will never get their government when the establishment & military have a mission to create chaos to seize power and disrupt their peace. 

 

They were much better off during Thaksin and YL tenures but not during the junta era. The inequality spike & claiming world’s inequality status was the give away.

 

But you wouldn’t know that as you live in Sukhumvit and I bet have not spent more than a day living in the province, 

1 hour ago, bannork said:

The problem with supporting Pheua Thai or the red shirts in the past has always been that they were the lackeys of Thaksin, not an independent thought in their bones. Hopefully Future Forward will change all that.

Ain't you contradicting yourself? Lackeys seem a very harsh and derogatory word to describe those marginalize segment of the population who only want a better life. Thaksin gave them a better life. They have the independent thoughts to vote for PPRP and FFP because they believed the parties can live up to their promises and improve their lives. Both have promised much higher minimum wages etc. 

Any information about the role played by politicians who switched from PPT to PPP? 

Do they represent a significant share of the votes/seats won by PPP in this region?

2 hours ago, bannork said:

The problem with supporting Pheua Thai or the red shirts in the past has always been that they were the lackeys of Thaksin, not an independent thought in their bones. Hopefully Future Forward will change all that.

I think Future Foward is a good new beginning in Thai politics. Younger generation being charged up and hope to make a change. Pheau Thai and Democrats all need to go, they are the old and corrupt system. Folks that still support both parties are the reason why Thai politics are never going to improve.

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

Of course there will be no peace and they will never get their government when the establishment & military have a mission to create chaos to seize power and disrupt their peace. 

 

They were much better off during Thaksin and YL tenures but not during the junta era. The inequality spike & claiming world’s inequality status was the give away.

 

But you wouldn’t know that as you live in Sukhumvit and I bet have not spent more than a day living in the province, 

Up country is full of red-shirts. Why would I want to live there?

14 minutes ago, candide said:

Any information about the role played by politicians who switched from PPT to PPP? 

Do they represent a significant share of the votes/seats won by PPP in this region?

Quite possible and that shows that loyalty is NOT to the PTP but to their politicians. Showing again that vote buying worked and that Thaksin was outbid this time.  The PTP lost massively i take that as a sign that vote buying worked for them but now they are outbid. With vote buying I also mean popular policies and so on. 

 

The longer the PTP stays out of government the more they will shrink as their war chest shrinks too and thus them losing power. So they desperately need to be in a government or face even more losses. Because (unfortunately) who is in power will reap money and fill their war chest for the next election.

2 hours ago, robblok said:

Quite possible and that shows that loyalty is NOT to the PTP but to their politicians. Showing again that vote buying worked and that Thaksin was outbid this time.  The PTP lost massively i take that as a sign that vote buying worked for them but now they are outbid. With vote buying I also mean popular policies and so on. 

 

The longer the PTP stays out of government the more they will shrink as their war chest shrinks too and thus them losing power. So they desperately need to be in a government or face even more losses. Because (unfortunately) who is in power will reap money and fill their war chest for the next election.

Isn' ptp's war chest filled by thaksin?

1 hour ago, sweatalot said:

Isn' ptp's war chest filled by thaksin?

Who filled PPRPs war chest?

5 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Of course there will be no peace and they will never get their government when the establishment & military have a mission to create chaos to seize power and disrupt their peace. 

 

They were much better off during Thaksin and YL tenures but not during the junta era. The inequality spike & claiming world’s inequality status was the give away.

 

But you wouldn’t know that as you live in Sukhumvit and I bet have not spent more than a day living in the province, 

 

Better off under the Shins - thrown a few crumbs; bullied and threatened when necessary.

 

Sure, they were so much better under the crooks kelptocracy!

4 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Ain't you contradicting yourself? Lackeys seem a very harsh and derogatory word to describe those marginalize segment of the population who only want a better life. Thaksin gave them a better life. They have the independent thoughts to vote for PPRP and FFP because they believed the parties can live up to their promises and improve their lives. Both have promised much higher minimum wages etc. 

 

Thaksin gave them very little in reality. But he and his family and cronies all enriched themselves massively. 

 

If you think the PTP and red shirts are allowed independent thought then there's little hope for you.

 

Ask yourself, who elected the red shirt and UDD leaders?

4 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Ain't you contradicting yourself? Lackeys seem a very harsh and derogatory word to describe those marginalize segment of the population who only want a better life. Thaksin gave them a better life. They have the independent thoughts to vote for PPRP and FFP because they believed the parties can live up to their promises and improve their lives. Both have promised much higher minimum wages etc. 

I'm sorry for my strong words Eric but the major problem with PT has always been that it's primarily a vehicle for Thaksin to get an amnesty.

PPRP adopted populism from Thaksin and 'persuaded' many PT MPs to switch sides in order to 'hoover up' votes upcountry. It worked to a considerable extent ( assuming the election is fair!)

For Bangkokians and the middle-class, they played the bogeyman card- 'Do you want peace to continue? Vote for us.' This worked for older and conservative citizens it seems, folks who might have voted for The Democrats but for Abhist's principle refusal to work with Prayut.

The only genuine pro-democracy groups with MPs I can see so far are Future Forward, Seri Ruam Thai, New Economics and one or two other very small parties. They can work with PT so long as Thaksin's interests are kept on the backburner.

Abhisit made an interesting point the other day. He claimed PT never cut the military budget whilst in power, in contrast to The Democrats' reduction when they held office.