Abhisit's Honeymoon With Strange Bedfellow Is Over

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THAI TALK

Abhisit's honeymoon with strange bedfellow is over

By Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

Is Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva flirting with a "political mistress"? Or is he just trying to teach his "strange bedfellow" a lesson?

Whatever the real reason, the prime minister has been unusually harsh with his most visible coalition partner - the Bhum Jai Thai Party - which has likened their relationship to that between a husband and wife.

If that's the case, they apparently haven't been sharing a bed for the past several nights now - so much so that both sides could claim valid grounds for divorce - except that some of their neighbours have been sporting knowing smiles, attributing the noisy exchanges to nothing but a desperate attempt to seek attention.

But if attention is all that is being pursued by this estranged couple, then it's a very unusual way of showing their rocky relationship to the public.

First it was the Bhum Jai Thai Party's executives badmouthing the Democrats. Now, Abhisit is on the offensive. His public statements in the past few days could be summarised as nothing short of: "If you aren't comfortable with our co-habitation, just leave!"

At first it was interpreted by some political observers as an impromptu response from the PM to a reporter's leading question. The British Gentleman that he is, Abhisit, even in his most frustrated moments, would never be caught mouthing such a politically incorrect statement.

But two days later, when a reporter asked the premier again about whether he was concerned about Bhum Jai Thai jettisoning the coalition if push comes to shove, the PM, almost immediately, declared:

"Even if that should happen, we would still have a working majority in the House", which sent reporters on the PM's beat running to call up their editors back in the newsrooms.

But don't rush to conclusions.

No, the coalition government isn't breaking up right away. Nor will the rumour of PM Abhisit courting the "3-Ps" to join the coalition to replace Bhum Jai Thai become a reality anytime soon.

And don't let anyone hoodwink you with the wild speculation that the Democrats want the interior portfolio back - or perhaps Banyat Banthadthan, a senior Democrat, is all set to become the House Speaker in Chai Chidchob's place.

To me, these stories being bandied about by various political factions are nothing but political red herrings. To all intents and purposes, the Democrats no doubt want to divert attention from all the controversy surrounding the Constitutional Court's verdict on whether their party will be dissolved - a decision that could be delivered as early as November 29.

The Democrats who are confident the party can survive the dissolution trial want the Bhum Jai Thai executives to realise they won't have Abhisit to kick around after that. Those who assume the worst don't care much about Bhum Jai Thai since their party's dissolution would mean an all-out battle in the ensuing election anyway.

The only real reason one can think of to explain Abhisit's tough language directed against Bhum Jai Thai is that he is trying to restore his and his party's political image to boost their electoral chances when voting time comes.

Abhisit evidently wants to shake off the highly damaging image that he has been sleeping with a strange bedfellow from a doubtful background.

What's worse, he is afraid of being labeled a "henpecked husband" in this coalition.

It may be a bit late, but when Abhisit says he doesn't care much about Bhum Jai Thai and what its executives stand for, he might be trying to portray an image of moral leadership, integrity and a sense of propriety.

If nothing else, he may just want to show the voters that he didn't really enjoy sleeping with the bad guys.

But will he have the guts to actually declare: "I was just faking it?"

-- The Nation 2010-10-21

[Colabamumbai]

Only in Thailand.

[honu]

Bah!

[yellow1red1]

when his Brit school buddy, the PM of England, is visiting him for Xmas holidays, he needed the guest room cleared??? ha ha ha