Scare Tactics Dominate Thai Election Campaign

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BURNING ISSUE

Scare tactics dominate campaign

By Avudh Panananda

The Nation

Thai politics is like a rudderless ship. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is willing to serve a second term but his opponents, including the red and yellow shirts, say he is unfit for the job. Many see Purachai Piumsombun of the Pracha Santi Party as a prime-ministerial candidate but he says he is not aiming to lead the next government.

Mingkwan Saengsuwan of the Pheu Thai Party has announced his candidacy for the position of prime minister. But his party and its backer, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, appear reluctant go along.

Except for the Democrats, political parties are poised to campaign without telling voters whom they will endorse as the next prime minister.

Even though the countdown for the poll has already started, a number of politicians and commentators have subscribed to a prediction of a last-minute intervention to derail the vote. Should the balloting take place, outside pressure might rig the outcome and deny the winning party of its chance to form the government, according to doomsayers.

To recap the noise being generated, the poll may or may not, take place. If the balloting is allowed to proceed, the winning party may not have a say in the government's formation. Abhisit should not be entrusted with the government's helm, although no one seems to know who should replace him as prime minister.

The doom-and-gloom scenario makes the situation sound grim. But is the country in dire straits or is its difficulty exaggerated?

For more than five years, many have seen Thai politics dominated by street protests led by two colour-coded movements.

An opinion survey by the Asia Foundation released yesterday indicated the opposite. Almost eight in 10 people do not see themselves as having partisan affiliations. Fewer than 25 per cent describe themselves as red or yellow shirts. Of those who do, 14 per cent say they are in the red camp, while 10 per cent are in the yellow camp.

Despite a lack of real impact on the fabric of society, the animosity has persisted and generated a lot of noise because politicians hype up the political divide to further their partisan interests.

As the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties engage in a fierce rivalry to grab power, the Pracha Santi Party emerges as an alternative for voters. Purachai and his Pracha Santi supporters are opportunists catapulting themselves into the power-sharing arrangement.

The main opposition party has made it crystal-clear that it will try to wrest power from the Democrats. Its backer Thaksin has been actively looking for a dark-horse contender for the position of prime minister.

The red-shirt movement is expected to deliver crucial Pheu Thai votes to outpace the Democrats. The movement grew out of the protest against the judicial decision to seize assets of Thaksin and his family members in 2008.

Under the pretext of struggling against injustice and double standards, the red shirts have subsequently been transformed into Pheu Thai's vote canvassers.

The yellow shirts kicked off their movement in 2005 to oust Thaksin, seen as an autocratic leader. Their activism has evolved into spearheading a campaign for political cleansing.

In their latest move, the yellow shirts have been pushing to boycott the upcoming poll. They expect to gain a springboard to launch a new round of political reform and purge rogue politicians if the poll boycott gains momentum.

The red and yellow shirts are relying on scare tactics. The yellow camp argues for no poll. The red camp contends for a poll followed by a non-democratic intervention.

Voters will have a final say on how to deal with the scare-mongering.

-- The Nation 2011-03-29