Democrats Snare 43 Million Windfall In First 5 Months

[Plus]

I'll wait for the next general elections to see the truth public sentiment.

I doubt they improve on their 2007 performance when they couldn't get overall majority. Now they are politically isolated and I don't think it will change even if they become the biggest party again.

They were given a chance to govern, and they totally screwed it up. Teaming up with Democrats seems like a safer option for smaller parties.

In case they do manage to cobble up a government, they will inevitably start messing with Thaksin, that would lead to political turmoil, and eventually their government will collapse. Again.

PTP has nothing to lose, but all the other parties have been through this routine already. They might try again, but it's not very likely.

[emancipationthailand]

Argh, failed to quote .....

1. I guess nobody here saw didn't see the live broadcast around 3 - 4 am in the first morning of the military assult on the red-shirts.

2. So, condemning on Taksin and praising on Aphisit will never be consider as a waste of bandwith? The Oxford-educated PM already has enough formal/informal coverages/PRs on him in Thailand. So why limited our harsh disscussions to be against Taksin only? May be it's time to start getting the news clipping from oversea sources that aren't citing from local medias or by some of the known foreign medias owned by Sonthi Limthongul? I hope the Nations's Board would allow freedom of speech as long as there aren't dissussions about the revered and much loved royal familiy.

3. To see the extent of the extreme Internet propaganda. I suggest you to go to Manager website and try to put the good words on Taksin or condemping the PAD (Recent case is where Jumlong Srimaung brought up 4th grade kid on the stage and claimed him the leader of the PAD and taunted the police to arrest the boy). All the people i came across has never be able to post such comments. (in Manager, looks for any political news and start posting news' comments)

Cheer!

[animatic]

We ALL know Manager is quite biased,

so why would we expect anything else there?

We know Red papers are equally biased the other direction,

so what is news in all this?

There are many sources for plumbing the public sentiment,

word of mouth means more than any pundit's plaudits.

[Plus]

nobody here saw didn't see the live broadcast around 3 - 4 am in the first morning of the military assult on the red-shirts.

There were youtube videos posted here, shot from a window high above Din Daeng intersection. It showed a line of soldiers advancing in formation, reds throwing molotov cocktails and setting some of them on fire. Then a taxi ramming through a line of people, sending some flying several meters back.

[hammered]

Democrats snare 43 million windfall in first 5 months

By John Le Fevre

BANGKOK: -- Winners are grinners as the saying goes and according to the Electoral Commission (EC) that translates into money in the bank with the ruling Democrat Party receiving the lions share of public and corporate donations in the first five months of the year.

EC commissioner Sodsri Sattayatham said that up until the end of May the Democrats pocketed a cool Bt43 million (about $US126,000) of the Bt67.54 million (about $US1.986 million) Thais donated to political parties.

The Democrats booty was more than three times the Bt12 million (about $US35,000) donated to the main opposition Puea Thai Party, and more than five times the Bt7.7 million (about $US226,000) received by Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana.

According to Sodsri, Bhumjaithai came next in the donations ratings receiving Bt5 million (about $US147,000), followed by Chart Thai Pattana with Bt2 million (about $US58,800) and Rassadorn with a paltry Bt1.5 million (about $US44,000).

Thammaphiban Sangkhom, Social Action, and Palang Pandin Thai all received less than Bt1 million each (about $US29,400), with the last two parties failing to break through the Bt100,000 (about $US2,940) barrier.

Under the constitution political parties are required to report all donations to the EC, however the figures are somewhat misleading as they fail to take into account money donated to the United Front for Democracy (UDD) "red-shirt" movement or the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) "yellow-shirt" group, which are both not registered political parties.

-- thaivisa.com 2009-07-21

Similar to the big business GOP in the USA, it would be assumed that the Thai Democrat party with its' heavy-duty financial backers would exceed all other parties in financial resources. But the way this agenized media report it, they are trying subtly to convey the notion that this is an indicator of political support. They need to create indicators of this wherever they can find it. The last two by-elections need to be overcome somehow. Unfortunately for them, it is electoral success that denotes political support.

The Surat Thani by-election will be used to show support.

The Dems biggest problem is going to be the economy. It will limit what they can do and how people see them and will hurt them in the more closely contested central region where they need to do well and in better times maybe could.

If the government dont see a good time to go to the people then in about 2.5 years it will be mandatory. What happens if it looks like a Thaksin backed party will win then?

"....What happens if it looks like a Thaksin backed party will win then?".............During the heyday (airport) days of the anti-democracy PAD, the pro-democracy movement began to form. It coalesced around a muck-raking type TV program called "The Truth", and out of that, the Red Shirts were born. This Pro-democracy movement and the silent majority belatedly woke up in response to the PAD excesses. They have now grown to such proportions that the anti-democracy momentum has slowed, and electoral democracy cannot be dismissed with impunity, as it was close to doing during that PAD ascendancy. I am speculating therefore, that now a Thaksin-backed electoral win could no longer be prevented. It is more likely, that it will never get to that. It is more likely that electoral privileges will be denied to those sectors of society who represent a democratic majority

You seems to be the only person who thinks there is a good chance that a (less democratic) version of new politics will be instituted. You seem fairly sure it will be tried. Why? Myself, I think in this day and age and at this stage of Thailand's democratic development it will not work and would atcually result in disaster in social and poltical terms. and maybe economic too.

My feeling is that a Thaksin supported party will win the next election, but maybe niot get an overall majority. ie win but with coalition formation then being needed which is where the fixes come. However, it depends on the economy as much as anything plus the usual marketing of achievements/failures. A disastrous Dem term could result in an overall majority. An economic turn around coupled with genuine populist policies and ones that are well marketed (and that is where the Dems have a huge problem rather than in enacting them) could see PTP be a fair way from an obverall majoirty and with a pre-announced Dem-BJT electoral alliance claiming victory or at least I guess that is the theory. The PAD party will further undermine the Dems. I still cant see suspending or adapting democracy resulting in anything other than disaster, but the PAD party undermining the "plan" for a Dem-BJT electoral alliance of success could I guess be a ploy to try and force powerful people that way.

Quite where Thaksin (who I have my opinions on but we will leave them lotu for now) ends up with all this is another matter. He has already seen a party win an election and fial to help him. I guess it just is about hands as in the end deals get cut at that level.