Populist Policies Boomerang On Yingluck Govt

[webfact]

BURNING ISSUE

Populist policies boomerang on Yingluck govt

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Perhaps populism politics worked only during Thaksin Shinawatra's administration, as his younger sister Yingluck, who copied everything from him, is struggling to get anything going.

Acting Government Spokesman Aunsorn Aimsaard has said the government would implement 16 urgent policies in its first year in office and claimed that more than 45 per cent of those policies have already been completed. But the one year is up in August - only four months from now.

Two major populism policies are now causing headaches for Yingluck because they are backfiring on the administration. The policies to raise the minimum wage to Bt300 throughout the nation and the entry salary for university-educated civil servants to Bt15,000 are now creating economic problems for the government.

Yingluck has not yet been able to raise the minimum wage and salary but the prices of consumer goods have been inflating dramatically in advance of the pay hikes.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the opposition Democrat Party, rushed to rub salt in the government's wounds, saying populism politics, which he once failed to exploit for political gain, would hurt the people and damage the country.

The wage and salary policies put pressure on prices and drive up the cost of living for consumers. "That's the failure of the policy," he said.

Yingluck seemed not to give in as she tried to keep her promise to voters by adding some money to the incomes of university-educated civil servants. Their base salary remains the same but the government has given them an extra fillip to make their income reach Bt15,000 per month. The base salary cannot be hiked now since the government has no budget to adjust the salary system for all grades.

The minimum wage hike also covered only seven provinces, not the entire country, as the policy was strongly opposed by employers.

Other populism policies such as lowering the oil price by suspending contributions to the State Oil Fund were implemented only for a short period after the government assumed power.

The government has resumed collecting fees from fuel consumption for the fund, resulting in high retail prices. The policy of setting a flat rate for the elevated and underground trains in Bangkok also could not be enforced.

Yingluck promised during her political campaign that mass rapid transit in the capital must charge only Bt20 for the entire route. However, now her transport minister has changed the tune, saying the flat rate could be introduced only after all networks in Bangkok are completed.

This promise might not be kept during this government's term since none of the new routes can be completed within the three years remaining.

The controversial policy of providing free tablet computers to first graders also ran into some difficulties as the devices cannot be delivered to all kids on May 23, the first day of the new semester.

Information and Communications Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap has said the imported tablets could arrive in June.

Only one populism policy could be deemed as progressing and that is the women's development fund. More than 10 million women have joined the fund since it was launched on Women's Day on March 8.

The populism policies for the people are late in coming but the political policies under the guidance of former premier Thaksin seem to be moving along on schedule. Policies such as the constitution amendment and reconciliation plan are now in midstream and perhaps can be accomplished within this parliamentary session.

Prime Minister Yingluck has defended her policy record by saying that all policies were enforced accordingly. All policies have been advancing step-by-step, although some steps might take time as there has to be coordination among many agencies.

However, what the prime minister needs to do to evaluate policy execution is to see the implications for the people, rather than simply say the government is working on them.

-- The Nation 2012-04-19

[theblether]

Economic hard facts beat populism every time.

[Yunla]

Populist promises have almost always been the springboard for dictatorships. Part of the problem is the PTP policies are only window-dressing & nobody actually knows what their long-term agenda and policies are.

They are the living emodiment of the English "jam tomorrow" folk-saying ; "well kids, you know its just dry bread today but there'll be jam tomorrow". This is also the type of 'faith in the future' message has been used by many dictators through the centuries. Stick with us, even though your lives are going down the drain, we promise the future will be great. everything will be okay when Thaksin gets back, or maybe in the time of his son's rule, or his grandson, great-grandson.

PTP run the country on a skeleton-crew basis, ticking only the mandatory boxes and avoiding everything else. IMO their energies are devoted behind the scenes to installing a permanent familial oligarchy.

I would guess the next step will be to give all poor people a free colour TV, & by coincidence people will be watching red-government propaganda on the free TVs along with brain-meltingly bad soap operas and game shows. That wouldn't be so bad if the Govt actually made people's lives better (as promised).

The mistakes made pre-flood & post-flood which were shockingly inept, were brushed aside by the regime as unimportant, but the flood exposed the government-level complete lack of robust quick-thinking which are the trademarks of competent leadership. It also raised the question of what they consider important. Even the request to have a state of emergency during the worst floods for over 50 years, was rebuffed by Yingluck along partisan and control-freak lines.

All the meaningful pre-election promises by PTP have failed to appear even in start-up phase, except for a few stragglers that emerged blinking into the light & feeling all alone.

People in the opposition are very concerned that the country they love is being hijacked, and in the worst case scenario the groundwork for a dynastic oligarchy is being laid-out. The feeling among many international observers is that the worst is yet to come & Thai peoples future is one of being industrially-fleeced & exploited & deceived.

Edited April 19, 2012 by Yunla

[FOODLOVER]

Ditto.

[Colin Yai]

Economic hard facts beat populism every time.

It would appear that this lot do not agree with you (although I do)!!!

[Colin Yai]

Populist promises have almost always been the springboard for dictatorships. Part of the problem is the PTP policies are only window-dressing & nobody actually knows what their long-term agenda and policies are.

They are the living emodiment of the English "jam tomorrow" folk-saying ; "well kids, you know its just dry bread today but there'll be jam tomorrow". This is also the type of 'faith in the future' message has been used by many dictators through the centuries. Stick with us, even though your lives are going down the drain, we promise the future will be great. everything will be okay when Thaksin gets back, or maybe in the time of his son's rule, or his grandson, great-grandson.

PTP run the country on a skeleton-crew basis, ticking only the mandatory boxes and avoiding everything else. IMO their energies are devoted behind the scenes to installing a permanent familial oligarchy.

I would guess the next step will be to give all poor people a free colour TV, & by coincidence people will be watching red-government propaganda on the free TVs along with brain-meltingly bad soap operas and game shows. That wouldn't be so bad if the Govt actually made people's lives better (as promised).

The mistakes made pre-flood & post-flood which were shockingly inept, were brushed aside by the regime as unimportant, but the flood exposed the government-level complete lack of robust quick-thinking which are the trademarks of competent leadership. It also raised the question of what they consider important. Even the request to have a state of emergency during the worst floods for over 50 years, was rebuffed by Yingluck along partisan and control-freak lines.

All the meaningful pre-election promises by PTP have failed to appear even in start-up phase, except for a few stragglers that emerged blinking into the light & feeling all alone.

People in the opposition are very concerned that the country they love is being hijacked, and in the worst case scenario the groundwork for a dynastic oligarchy is being laid-out. The feeling among many international observers is that the worst is yet to come & Thai peoples future is one of being industrially-fleeced & exploited & deceived.

Good thoughtful non BS post ,like it ,like it.!!

[siampolee]

Economic hard facts beat populism every time.

Correction: The return of Thaksin beats Economic hard facts and beats populism every time.

PT is the screw and Thaksin is the screwdriver.

Edited April 19, 2012 by siampolee

[h90]

Economic hard facts beat populism every time.

It is not too serious....

These policies were meant to win the election, not to be implemented.

On the next election, tell everyone about the rich elite who doesn't want to share the money, give everyone 500 Baht for vote buying and tell some new lies and they will be elected again.

Someone who is really thinking about policies and if they make sense won't vote for PTP anyway so no reason to implement anything.

[nurofiend]

Populist promises have almost always been the springboard for dictatorships. Part of the problem is the PTP policies are only window-dressing & nobody actually knows what their long-term agenda and policies are.

They are the living emodiment of the English "jam tomorrow" folk-saying ; "well kids, you know its just dry bread today but there'll be jam tomorrow". This is also the type of 'faith in the future' message has been used by many dictators through the centuries. Stick with us, even though your lives are going down the drain, we promise the future will be great. everything will be okay when Thaksin gets back, or maybe in the time of his son's rule, or his grandson, great-grandson.

PTP run the country on a skeleton-crew basis, ticking only the mandatory boxes and avoiding everything else. IMO their energies are devoted behind the scenes to installing a permanent familial oligarchy.

I would guess the next step will be to give all poor people a free colour TV, & by coincidence people will be watching red-government propaganda on the free TVs along with brain-meltingly bad soap operas and game shows. That wouldn't be so bad if the Govt actually made people's lives better (as promised).

The mistakes made pre-flood & post-flood which were shockingly inept, were brushed aside by the regime as unimportant, but the flood exposed the government-level complete lack of robust quick-thinking which are the trademarks of competent leadership. It also raised the question of what they consider important. Even the request to have a state of emergency during the worst floods for over 50 years, was rebuffed by Yingluck along partisan and control-freak lines.

All the meaningful pre-election promises by PTP have failed to appear even in start-up phase, except for a few stragglers that emerged blinking into the light & feeling all alone.

People in the opposition are very concerned that the country they love is being hijacked, and in the worst case scenario the groundwork for a dynastic oligarchy is being laid-out. The feeling among many international observers is that the worst is yet to come & Thai peoples future is one of being industrially-fleeced & exploited & deceived.

They are the living emodiment of the English "jam tomorrow" folk-saying ; "well kids, you know its just dry bread today but there'll be jam tomorrow". This is also the type of 'faith in the future' message has been used by many dictators through the centuries. Stick with us, even though your lives are going down the drain, we promise the future will be great.

you could say this about a lot of politicial parties world wide, you could say it about obama, cameron (who are both using that kind of rhetoric in the current economic climate)... it's certainly not confined to dictatorships.

what's 'dictatorship' about the current government?

[heiwa]

Lies and/or violence is the way to come to power. What ever it takes. Power equals money and money equals respect. I feel we are about to hear the rage of the forsaken and this will spark a civil war and/or rampant crime. Some say the rampant crime has already started. If I was a red I would feel a little more than cheated. I have moved to Laos as I have no wish to get caught up in this AGAIN. Saw the black balaclava militia in Romklao Road, Romklao, Bangkok armed to the teeth, hijacked airports. No thank-you, not again. There will be no reconciliation until this stops being about leaders - and starts being about the economic welfare of the common people. Ideally the leaders of the PAD and reds should be jailed and some-one decent should be found to run the government.

Edited April 19, 2012 by heiwa

[MEL1]

Ideally the leaders of the PAD and reds should be jailed and some-one decent should be found to run the government.

Don't look now, but look who's over there!

-mel.

[Pib]

Sheep-like mentality is easily swayed to vote a certain way....does anyone else hear that Pied Piper music.

[LuckyLew]

With the inflation now being seen, I reckon it will cost 1000 baht for a vote next election

[Yunla]

you could say this about a lot of politicial parties world wide, you could say it about obama, cameron (who are both using that kind of rhetoric in the current economic climate)... it's certainly not confined to dictatorships.

what's 'dictatorship' about the current government?

I don't hold up Cameron or Obama as poster-boys for good governance. But if they had recieved a prison term of two years from the highest court in the land for financial crimes while in office, they would have been jailed & no longer working in politics & would have a hard time getting normal jobs too. If their elder brother was an on-the-run fugitive, there would be an obvious "conflict of interest" and so they would not be allowed to hold aministrative control.

Currently as you point out the govt here is not a dictatorship. This Govt run by a family as an oligarchy which is prey to the same dangers as a one-man show. If Thaksin returns, his multiple crimes are literally forgiven & the custodial sentence handed down on him is ignored entirely, the Govt becomes a self-regulating & legally-unaccountable family business. This is no different to dictatorship except it is in plural. I was pointing out that this is a possible risk.

My point was really that democratic policies should be formed based on reform & repair agendas, not on eye-candy & untruths & populism ie. insincere window-dressing to lure customers into the shop. And those genuine policies should be tirelessly & transparently worked-through for the interests of the voters. This has not happened under Yingluck. It is desireable for politicians to have had careers & activities outside politics and have agendas of reform based on those facets of society, be that medicine, transport, agriculture etc. PTP doesn't bring those reform agendas, the party is just a void waiting to be filled.

Edited April 19, 2012 by Yunla

[nurofiend]

you could say this about a lot of politicial parties world wide, you could say it about obama, cameron (who are both using that kind of rhetoric in the current economic climate)... it's certainly not confined to dictatorships.

what's 'dictatorship' about the current government?

I don't hold up Cameron or Obama as poster-boys for good governance. But if they had recieved a prison term of two years from the highest court in the land for financial crimes while in office, they would have been jailed & no longer working in politics & would have a hard time getting normal jobs too. If their elder brother was an on-the-run fugitive, there would be an obvious "conflict of interest" and so they would not be allowed to hold aministrative control.

Currently as you point out the govt here is not a dictatorship. This Govt run by a family as an oligarchy which is prey to the same dangers as a one-man show. If Thaksin returns, his multiple crimes are literally forgiven & the custodial sentence handed down on him is ignored entirely, the Govt becomes a self-regulating & legally-unaccountable family business. This is no different to dictatorship except it is in plural. I was pointing out that this is a possible risk.

My point was really that democratic policies should be formed based on reform & repair agendas, not on eye-candy & untruths & populism ie. insincere window-dressing to lure customers into the shop. And those genuine policies should be tirelessly & transparently worked-through for the interests of the voters. This has not happened under Yingluck. It is desireable for politicians to have had careers & activities outside politics and have agendas of reform based on those facets of society, be that medicine, transport, agriculture etc. PTP doesn't bring those reform agendas, the party is just a void waiting to be filled.

I don't hold up Cameron or Obama as poster-boys for good governance

i don't either, they're just well known.

re about thaksin - i agree that would be a risk but i genuinely don't think their agenda is as sinister as some people believe, do they want to make a lot of money.. oh most definitely.

would they actually act as dictators do and committ atrocities on their people, no i don't think so personally.

again i think your point in the last paragraph could be blanketed on the failings of democratic systems and the insincerity of politicians worldwide tbf.

[Thaddeus]

Acting Government Spokesman Aunsorn Aimsaard has said the government would implement 16 urgent policies in its first year in office and claimed that more than 45 per cent of those policies have already been completed.

What's that smell.

[theblether]

Economic hard facts beat populism every time.

Correction: The return of Thaksin beats Economic hard facts and beats populism every time.

PT is the screw and Thaksin is the screwdriver.

The law of unintended consequences always applies too, we are all so full of certainty in our own judgement that we forget that events overtake everyone. That includes Thaksin and he knows it. If he had no fear of the consequences he would be back by now.

These populist policies were put in place to secure election, that is not news or a new strategy. What will be a shock to the current government is when the poor start to give them the blame for rising prices. I am hearing my Thai friends complain bitterly about the cost of fuel and food already.

The wealthy can afford it, the poor cannot, and I stand by my first post..........economic hard facts beats populism every time.

This government is going to get a shock when their own supporters start to turn against them, and the poor start to realize they have been misled.

[hyperdimension]

would they actually act as dictators do and committ atrocities on their people, no i don't think so personally.

Were you around in 2003 during the war on drugs?

[Yunla]

i don't either, they're just well known.

re about thaksin - i agree that would be a risk but i genuinely don't think their agenda is as sinister as some people believe, do they want to make a lot of money.. oh most definitely.

would they actually act as dictators do and committ atrocities on their people, no i don't think so personally.

again i think your point in the last paragraph could be blanketed on the failings of democratic systems and the insincerity of politicians worldwide tbf.

I sincerely hope you are right. I consider myself an optimist by nature but find this positive outlook tested a lot when I read Thai news these days. I wouldn't trust the UK govt to peel potatoes but ultimately they are legallly accountable & monitored closely.

As for the 'do they want to make a lot of money', on which we both agree, that is actually what concerns me very much because all the state upheavals & lowering international patience for this situation here, coupled with the global economy which does negatively affect tourist spending, means that Thailand might well have dwindling income & if that is being pocketed by the regime it will be tragic for the poorest in Thailand.

[hyperdimension]

The article forgot to mention the one policy that has been implemented without a hitch: The reduction in the corporate tax rate from 30% to 23%.

[Thaddeus]

The article forgot to mention the one policy that has been implemented without a hitch: The reduction in the corporate tax rate from 30% to 23%.

Aha, that's where Aunsorn get's his figure of 45% from. There are only two pre-election promises that they are striving to see through to completion, and that isn't the most important one.

[WhizBang]

re about thaksin - i agree that would be a risk but i genuinely don't think their agenda is as sinister as some people believe, do they want to make a lot of money.. oh most definitely.

would they actually act as dictators do and committ atrocities on their people, no i don't think so personally.

Unfortunately, I do. Thaksin is out for control. Yes he wants money, but he gets that through control. Total, absolute, complete control (can you say absolute dictator?). Plus, if he should ever get back in control, he will want revenge against all of his many enemies. He is well known to be a very vengeful man.

With Thaksin around, Thailand's future looks to be very dim indeed.

[Morgo]

It would be better if the Nation were to report on the news, rather than copy Democrat press releases. This biased article does not even profess to be an opinion piece.

It might come as a shock to some, but democratic governments around the world are elected on populism. Which by the way, is a far better system than relying on the military to install its preferred government.

[h90]

With the inflation now being seen, I reckon it will cost 1000 baht for a vote next election

That much?

Dearest Leader won't be pleased.

[Thailand]

It would be better if the Nation were to report on the news, rather than copy Democrat press releases. This biased article does not even profess to be an opinion piece.

It might come as a shock to some, but democratic governments around the world are elected on populism. Which by the way, is a far better system than relying on the military to install its preferred government.

Standard practice for the Nation.

At the end of it ,populist policies implemented or not,this gov were elected the dems were not. And I doubt if they will be for some years to come without some form of intervention.

[whybother]

It would be better if the Nation were to report on the news, rather than copy Democrat press releases. This biased article does not even profess to be an opinion piece.

It might come as a shock to some, but democratic governments around the world are elected on populism. Which by the way, is a far better system than relying on the military to install its preferred government.

Governments that are elected on populism usually deliver on their promises.

[rixalex]

you obviously know it was very popular with the people, whereas i think atrocites committed by dictatorships aren't generally that warmly received...

Popularity was for what was being sold: ridding the streets quickly and effectively of drug dealers, by lethal means if necessary.

Popularity was not for what transpired: people being killed unnecessarily, a lot of them with no proof of connection to drug dealing.

But anyway, the whole public support makes things somehow better argument is of course a complete nonsense. The public isn't the one making the decisions.

[nurofiend]

you obviously know it was very popular with the people, whereas i think atrocites committed by dictatorships aren't generally that warmly received...

Popularity was for what was being sold: ridding the streets quickly and effectively of drug dealers, by lethal means if necessary.

Popularity was not for what transpired: people being killed unnecessarily, a lot of them with no proof of connection to drug dealing.

But anyway, the whole public support makes things somehow better argument is of course a complete nonsense. The public isn't the one making the decisions.

i think you'll find it was still popular.

but anyway my argument wasn't pro the war on drugs, so i didn't say it somehow made what happened better, but we knew what the public thought about it.

my point was about dictatorship... and if it was a dictatorship, the public wouldn't even be heard, we wouldn't know what the public thought about it.

now you can cut out parts of my posts out and spin and do whatever you like but i'm not biting, thanks.

Edited April 19, 2012 by nurofiend

[metisdead]

Off topic posts have been removed.

[nietzche]

Populist promises have almost always been the springboard for dictatorships. Part of the problem is the PTP policies are only window-dressing & nobody actually knows what their long-term agenda and policies are.

They are the living emodiment of the English "jam tomorrow" folk-saying ; "well kids, you know its just dry bread today but there'll be jam tomorrow". This is also the type of 'faith in the future' message has been used by many dictators through the centuries. Stick with us, even though your lives are going down the drain, we promise the future will be great. everything will be okay when Thaksin gets back, or maybe in the time of his son's rule, or his grandson, great-grandson.

PTP run the country on a skeleton-crew basis, ticking only the mandatory boxes and avoiding everything else. IMO their energies are devoted behind the scenes to installing a permanent familial oligarchy.

I would guess the next step will be to give all poor people a free colour TV, & by coincidence people will be watching red-government propaganda on the free TVs along with brain-meltingly bad soap operas and game shows. That wouldn't be so bad if the Govt actually made people's lives better (as promised).

The mistakes made pre-flood & post-flood which were shockingly inept, were brushed aside by the regime as unimportant, but the flood exposed the government-level complete lack of robust quick-thinking which are the trademarks of competent leadership. It also raised the question of what they consider important. Even the request to have a state of emergency during the worst floods for over 50 years, was rebuffed by Yingluck along partisan and control-freak lines.

All the meaningful pre-election promises by PTP have failed to appear even in start-up phase, except for a few stragglers that emerged blinking into the light & feeling all alone.

People in the opposition are very concerned that the country they love is being hijacked, and in the worst case scenario the groundwork for a dynastic oligarchy is being laid-out. The feeling among many international observers is that the worst is yet to come & Thai peoples future is one of being industrially-fleeced & exploited & deceived.

They are the living emodiment of the English "jam tomorrow" folk-saying ; "well kids, you know its just dry bread today but there'll be jam tomorrow". This is also the type of 'faith in the future' message has been used by many dictators through the centuries. Stick with us, even though your lives are going down the drain, we promise the future will be great.

you could say this about a lot of politicial parties world wide, you could say it about obama, cameron (who are both using that kind of rhetoric in the current economic climate)... it's certainly not confined to dictatorships.

what's 'dictatorship' about the current government?

Let's not compare the leaders of two great countries with a populist moron. There is a difference between populist policies and popular policies. No matter what the state of politics is back home, it's certainly above the gutter level nonsense going on here!