Democrat Party - In Need Of A Make-over ?

[Ricardo]

You're leader of the 2nd-most-popular political-party in Thailand, have just increased your share of the party-vote to become neck-and-neck with the leading party, and are one of the new-generation politicians, not a dinosaur from the murky past.

Your party has enough seats this time, to form an effective Opposition in Parliament, to the coalition-government, but you have a slight problem : - In your main enemy's home-territory you failed to dent their entrenched & popular position.

Was it the policies, poor communications, your candidates, your party-machine, or an unbeatable (this time) sympathy-vote for a former-PM ? Was it corruption, and will you stoop to that, to win next time ? How will you fund your party until the next election ?

Apart from keeping a high-profile as leader of the Opposition, over the coming months and years, what else should Abhsit now do, if he wants to win next time ?

Just sit back and wait, for the PPP-coalition to fall apart, or more than that ? Ideas please !

[steveromagnino]

You're leader of the 2nd-most-popular political-party in Thailand, have just increased your share of the party-vote to become neck-and-neck with the leading party, and are one of the new-generation politicians, not a dinosaur from the murky past.

Your party has enough seats this time, to form an effective Opposition in Parliament, to the coalition-government, but you have a slight problem : - In your main enemy's home-territory you failed to dent their entrenched & popular position.

Was it the policies, poor communications, your candidates, your party-machine, or an unbeatable (this time) sympathy-vote for a former-PM ? Was it corruption, and will you stoop to that, to win next time ? How will you fund your party until the next election ?

Apart from keeping a high-profile as leader of the Opposition, over the coming months and years, what else should Abhsit now do, if he wants to win next time ?

Just sit back and wait, for the PPP-coalition to fall apart, or more than that ? Ideas please !

3 key policies

NO ONE LEFT BEHIND

- massive increase in funding to allow education to age 16 at a high quality for every single child

- genuine healthcare program starting at 5b for the poorest, and means tested ranging up to non subsidised for anyone having income

- introduction of tradeschools and agricultural education programs in every province

- major focus on solid curriculum away from english to trades, science, engineering, research

- creation of joint grade A university system free from preferential entry for each of the 4 provinces in Thailand assocated with existing govt universities and in partnership with Harvard/Oxford/etc ie. a worldclass research led university system for elite BUT subsidised for the poor

- no conversions of squatter occupied land for profits

NO BAD FORCES

- execution/life imprisonment for any govt official or private sector staff caught receiving or paying a bribe of more than 1m baht; instant dismissal and loss of all benefits for any govt official caught receiving or paying a bribe of more than 10,000b - hotline and special police force set up in conjunction with UN or similar objective agency

- genuine social order campaign to clean up prostitution, drugs, gambling, nightlife

- deportation and no mucking around for foreign illegals

- massive increase in pay scale for police/military BUT combined with threat of corruption

- declaration by ministers and their families of assets, and review annually for unusual changes

- enforcement of major laws, no exceptions

- leadership by example

- indepedent investigation committee appointed by our most loved person, to review major corruption cases, whose decisions are beyond reproach

- immediate amnesty for heads of SRT, Forestry etc to declare the mistakes made, and start afresh, or risk independent audit and execution for past corruption that can be tied back to them personally

VIBRANT ECONOMY

- major enforcement for tax, with massive reduction in paperwork and top tax rate set at 25% (make the rich richer)

- deregulation of state owned enterprises (especially EGAT, State Railways) with shareholding distributed between every tax payer in the kingdom (option to buy) and employees; i.e. a conversion of public to private, by breaking the unions and encouraging them to work (most are hard working anyway IMHO) but at a fair price (i.e. the opposite of PTT)

- massive reduction in the size of civil service, with voluntary reitrement program combined with layoffs from corruption

- instant monster investment in free telecomms service in conjunction with the private sector at a fair price to ensure massive connectivity and infrastructure

- energy efficiency and dergulation in the power industry to avoid needing nuclear power etc, while ensuring adequate supply of water etc

- shift foreign ownership upwards to as high as 100% in more selected industries

- major incentives to Thai firms for innovation rather than relying on BOI to bring in foreigners; soft credit for entreprenuers

- microcredit scheme for rural Thailand

- continue with FTA program, but actually think about Thai people rather than telco/sattellite owners

- allow foreigners to own most companies on the SET except for specific security risk companies e.g. ports, telcos, as per foreign examples

- set tourism target at max 15m people per year

- allow foreign ownership of condos up to 75% NO NOMINEES and extend lease term to 60 years enforceable excluding rural areas ie. zoned areas only

- financial sector masterplan to allow foreign bank ownership etc

Drilling the next level down is another series of tasks, but this gives an idea.

Genuine freemarket. Genuine help for the poor. Genuine dedication to no corruption.

Abhisit = wrong guy. They should have Supachai.

MARKETING IT

- 3 policies only

- only use politicians that have never been found to be corrupt

- amway style pyramid marketing, using share scheme and freebies to get the rural poor to vote for you

- focus on the anti corruption anti dark forces bit

- get some bullet proof vests

- lots of dara

Honestly, all that, and it won't stand up to freebies from Thaksin.

Edited January 30, 2008 by steveromagnino

[jumnien]

The Democrat party should just admit they were wrong in not opposing the coup and should have refused any support from Sonthi and his cohorts. They sold out any precarious links they had to integrity and what little they had will be very tough to rebuild. They took a gamble that siding with the military overthrow would put them back at the feeding trough. Disband first, then the few of them with any principles should reform with a platform.

Edited January 30, 2008 by sunrise07

[Old Man River]

The Democrat party should just admit they were wrong in not opposing the coup and should have refused any support from Sonthi and his cohorts. They sold out any precarious links they had to integrity and what little they had will be very tough to rebuild. They took a gamble that siding with the military overthrow would put them back at the feeding trough. Disband first, then the few of them with any principles should reform with a platform.

Sunrise07, where did you get that they didn't oppose the coup? It has been reported that Abhisit opposed it, but I haven't taken a poll with all their other members. Based on your comments above, you obviously have. Please share with all of us your sources on the poll that shows that the Democrats were in support of the coup?

Steveromagnino, well thought out. While I like Abhisit, in retrospect Supachai would have been a better choice, although it has been reported that he had no interest anyway. I fully agree with your last comment that it didn't matter what the Demo's offered, a comment made elsewhere by Sunrise07, although he has apparently forgotten it.

[KhaoNiaw]

In the North East, a lot depends on who you have standing for you. In the wife's home constituency in Ubon, the Thaksin factor was never quite enough to unseat the Democrat there, who has been MP for the area ever since I've known her, nearly 20 years now. As the strongest candidates have generally been headhunted by the other party(ies), it will be very difficult to make inroads there whatever policies they push.

I think Abhisit has been very disappointing. He should have been a great asset, and with his relative youth and charm, could have appealed to voters all over, but he's really kept a very low profile.

They need something creative and simple enough for ordinary people to get hold of that they can push as their own policy. It's very difficult though, as probably most ideas they come up with will be passed off as desperate imitations of Thaksin-inspired policy.

[DP25]

Free loans and debt bondage for the rural poor would be an effective strategy.

[Heng]

Change the party name to Democrats Rak Thai.

[steveromagnino]

Change the party name to Democrats Rak Thai.

I actually wanted to start a business called

Thai Rak Pie

It was going to sell pies. Square ones, but there would be one with a big mound of potato on the top, filled with curry, called the Pojaman.

However, in light of the current situation, I would say Thai rak Kwai would have been more appropriate.

Dems currently do not have the budget to buy the good candidate factions; only way is to bypass the faction system and go direct to the people; they cannot, so they are better to partner with an isaan farmer's party who stand for agricultural reform and poor people, plus Dems who stand for decent governance and pro business.

2 parties is doable in a coalition.

Having dealt with one family in particular who have politicians in TRT and the Democrats, and who is married to a former celebrity, I would have to say that alledgedly some of the Dems, this guy in particular, loud mouth and try hard that he is, has his hand in the till almost as much as the PPP/TRT guys.

[Heng]

Yeah it's a common optimistic wish that the parties are any different when confronted with an open till or all you can eat buffet. It's like looking for a frat party that isn't serving alcohol.

[Lilawadee]

Great post by Steve, very well thought out. Agree with most items.

Good point by Sunrise though, at the very least some soul searching would be good for th party, to review their actions and inactions before the coup and under military government, and especially relating to having the constitution thrown out that they themselves campaigned so hard for in 1997.

Edited January 31, 2008 by Lilawadee

[samran]

dunno what it is going to take. It is clear that they are not hungry enough for power. It is sad, but often true, that you have to want to be in power.

[steveromagnino]

Great post by Steve, very well thought out. Agree with most items.

Good point by Sunrise though, at the very least some soul searching would be good for th party, to review their actions and inactions before the coup and under military government, and especially relating to having the constitution thrown out that they themselves campaigned so hard for in 1997.

They were caught a little in a way that Banharn was not; it is a lot easier being a small party in some ways. The only way is to find a partner and they can win BKK/South, while their partner can be hungry enough and connected enough with the poor to win Isaan and the North.

You can kind of see how TRT corrupted the 1997 constitution and ran right over all the checks and balances (senate, NCCC, NTC, free media, independent TV) - let's not forget this is the latest constitution in a line of constitutions. You can see why Democrats bouycotted that election which led to all of this. But you need a strategy to communicate all this; they came across like the Democrats in USA - earnest, elite and aloof - no wonder the average American chose Bush (one of them) over Kerry (Dem like Thailand) there and the same applies here.

How Thaksin manages to be the richest man and also 'one of them' is very impressive. I guess the same as Bush in that respect.

As for ideas, I have a bunch more, more specific, like one village/suburb one park (every village gets a sportfield, with facilities to exercise, and leagues to play with eachother) but that is all in the detail. I've explained a fair few to some of the senior older generation of Dems, but to be honest, most would rather speak in english, sip tea and talk about clever legal tactics etc etc - JUST LEARN HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF AND GET ON WITH IT - sadly they dunne take my advice LOL