Do You Think Taksin Will Resign?

[Belfastboy]

do u think taksin will resign...?

looking from the outside in...from the UK point of view the anti- Taksin rallies are getting alot of coverage on BBC news24........

im really not sure of the details...but what did he actually do wrong? ... i gather it involved some kind of corruption involving the sale of his telecommunications business....

from what the mrs tells me...Taksin was the messiah in coming when he first arrived on the scene, and now she tells me that he's just like all the rest dishonest and corrupt....although the amount of money he has seems to draw a kind of sick adoration for him ....especially in rural thailand.

whats the alternative to Taksin? ....is Taksin a Tony Blair or Dave Cameron ?....

[phuketsiam]

Thaksin will never resign, he may even win the next election on the farmers vote, the educated people see through him, but the vast number of votes are in the rural areas and these people are still mesmerised by his spin. He's very good at the spin

[otherstuff1957]

IMHO the only thing that could bring Thaksin down would be Thaksin himself. If he keeps his cool and pulls strings behind the scenes, the SEC will either say that everything was done correctly or give him a slap on the wrist for making some sort of "minor technical error in reporting his financial transactions".

Thaksin is his own worst enemy. His arrogence is alienating a lot of people and his aggresive personality may make him say and do things that could lead to his downfall. If he gets goaded into using violence and kills too many people, the King will probably ask for his resignation, which would mean the end of his public life in Thailand.

[Maestro]

do u think taksin will resign...?

No.

---------------

Maestro

[george]

No, he will be overthrown.

[Heng]

Thaksin will never resign, he may even win the next election on the farmers vote, the educated people see through him, but the vast number of votes are in the rural areas and these people are still mesmerised by his spin. He's very good at the spin

Not a farmer, and didn't vote for him last time around, but if it does appear to be close, I might be bothered to vote for him next time. Not pro-Thaksin per se, but I'd rather have someone who can actually run businesses while skimming from the top >in charge< rather than someone who only knows how to skim from the top, side and bottom.

Perhaps one of the Lamsams, Chearavanonts or Sophonpanichs are interested into going into politics.

[phuketsiam]

The point is its irrelevent how you vote or the other middle - hi-so Thai's, the numbers are with the rural population

[skippybangkok]

Real politics is at the Taxi driver level. Of late, alot have chatted to me about him, and their dislike of his actual or pereived tax evasion. Its the grass roots who are keeping him in, not the middle class, and if the farmers / taxi drivers are already un-happy about this, it will be interesting to see how it rolls out.

Either which way fine by me.... like watching a soap opera.

[mumbojumbo]

Same as OJ, money talks and Thaksin walks. A shame.

[Ulysses G.]

I'd rather have someone who can actually run businesses while skimming from the top >in charge< rather than someone who only knows how to skim from the top, side and bottom.

[Thaising]

With money and power, I doubt thaksin will relinquish his power. Since he is the CEO of LOS, he can always manipulate and massage the laws to suit his business interest. As you could see all six national TV channels reporting is on his side, where the poor rural folks knew nothings but hand out from the generous thaksin. With the state machinery, he can fully utilize to shut out his critics and deceives the rural folks by promising to solve the country poverty if he's still in power.

[Heng]

The point is its irrelevent how you vote or the other middle - hi-so Thai's, the numbers are with the rural population

Apparently you don't understand how easily the rural Thais votes are influenced. Millions of the rural population are in Bangkok (and all 'major' cities). And guess what, right or wrong, they often look to their employers and bosses for counsel and wisdom. "Tao kae/tao kae nia is this successful, he/she is smart." And they often try to emulate (sometimes to their detriment) their 'elders' in any and every way possible (boss has a big house, boss has several cars, boss votes for this party, etc.....and so will I).

And like all news and rumors, this 'counsel and wisdom' trickles down the grapevine to the rest of the family.

Edited February 12, 2006 by Heng

[britmaveric]

No - too arrogant to resign!

[Stephen Cleary]

No, he will be overthrown.

That's probably the best answer yet.

It is very very deep and only a lot of knowledge of how power changes hands and the political background of Thailand can you even begin to comprehend.

I could say a lot on the matter but i wont.

We will never know who is really pulling the strings behind the scenes of the likes of 'Sonthi'. You think this guy started it all by himself - absolutely no way!

One of the most influential persons in deciding whether PM Thaksin ought to stay on or not is Gen. Prem. He the country's most respected elderly statesman and as high up the rank as you can get.

The biggest question at the moment is on whose side is..... Gen. Prem. Former Bkk governor 'Samak has got himself in trouble but demining Gen Prem a few days ago. One remark made by 'Samak' was that Gen Prem is beginning to shift to the side of the anti-Thaksin campaign. If this is true then we could very well see the end of Thaksin.

I believe we will see the demise of Thaksin soon.

One member asked who would take over.

I think it would be Gen Prem, before a new election is held.

Edited February 12, 2006 by stevesuphan

[stumonster]

but I'd rather have someone who can actually run businesses while skimming from the top >in charge< rather than someone who only knows how to skim from the top, side and bottom.

heng , surely you don't believe he could have been built such an empire without cronyism,nepotism and corruption on his side. every time he opens his mouth and makes a statement about solving some issue in 30 days , you have to wonder at his grasp on reality - to me he speaks like a salesman.

if Thailand is to proceed forward it has to interact with the outside world , and having a leader who could not be successful without stacking things in his favour is not going to help it there. Thailands honeymoon as an area for construction/manufacturing because of its cheap labour is nearing an end.

It is losing multi-billion dollar construction contracts because the trade off for cheap skilled labour does not overcome the ineptness and greed of the beauracracies and the petty tyrants that regard their area of influence as their own fiefdom and they wish to aspire to the heights of easy money as their idol mr't'

[Ricardo]

- to me he speaks like a salesman.

This reminds me of a story about former-president Richard M Nixon who, at the Q&A session following a debate at Oxford University, was asked whether he had ever sold used-cars.

I do not think Thaksin will go easily, but suspect that General Prem may have a role, in his eventual downfall. Hence the recent attack on the Head Privy Councillor & former-PM, by a leading government spokesman, may turn out to have been a tactical mistake.

[chownah]

but I'd rather have someone who can actually run businesses while skimming from the top >in charge< rather than someone who only knows how to skim from the top, side and bottom.

heng , surely you don't believe he could have been built such an empire without cronyism,nepotism and corruption on his side. every time he opens his mouth and makes a statement about solving some issue in 30 days , you have to wonder at his grasp on reality - to me he speaks like a salesman.

if Thailand is to proceed forward it has to interact with the outside world , and having a leader who could not be successful without stacking things in his favour is not going to help it there. Thailands honeymoon as an area for construction/manufacturing because of its cheap labour is nearing an end.

It is losing multi-billion dollar construction contracts because the trade off for cheap skilled labour does not overcome the ineptness and greed of the beauracracies and the petty tyrants that regard their area of influence as their own fiefdom and they wish to aspire to the heights of easy money as their idol mr't'

What you're saying makes sense to me. Don't you think, though, that Thailand's ineptness in dealing with the outside world is one of the things that has made it attractive for foreigners to come and live here? For me personally I like the fact that there isn't so much rapid development here and if anything there is too much foreign presence already for my liking.

[phuketsiam]

The point is its irrelevent how you vote or the other middle - hi-so Thai's, the numbers are with the rural population

Apparently you don't understand how easily the rural Thais votes are influenced. Millions of the rural population are in Bangkok (and all 'major' cities). And guess what, right or wrong, they often look to their employers and bosses for counsel and wisdom. "Tao kae/tao kae nia is this successful, he/she is smart." And they often try to emulate (sometimes to their detriment) their 'elders' in any and every way possible (boss has a big house, boss has several cars, boss votes for this party, etc.....and so will I).

And like all news and rumors, this 'counsel and wisdom' trickles down the grapevine to the rest of the family.

I think most rural thai's don't have bosses as such, they just scrape a living of the land, if they were so influenced by factory owners etc then Thaksin wouldn't spend so much time and money wooing them, but I could be wrong

[rishi]

No, he won't resign. Reading my daily Bangkok Post, he obviously is taking counter measures against the opposition.

Things can change very radically in Thailand - and pretty fast. Not so many years ago there were tanks in the streets. Better have a backup plan - just in case.

[Thaiquila]

My personal take is there is a pretty fair chance he will be ousted, though certainly not inevitable and probable as the Nation newspaper would like us to believe.

Of course, he could try the good old American solution, start a war and change the center attention away from himself.

[Boon Mee]

Of course, he could try the good old American solution, start a war and change the center attention away from himself.

Like blow-job Bill did in Bosnia to get the attention away from himself, eh?

Don't forget about the Tomahawk missles shot into empty tents too!

[Heng]

The point is its irrelevent how you vote or the other middle - hi-so Thai's, the numbers are with the rural population

Apparently you don't understand how easily the rural Thais votes are influenced. Millions of the rural population are in Bangkok (and all 'major' cities). And guess what, right or wrong, they often look to their employers and bosses for counsel and wisdom. "Tao kae/tao kae nia is this successful, he/she is smart." And they often try to emulate (sometimes to their detriment) their 'elders' in any and every way possible (boss has a big house, boss has several cars, boss votes for this party, etc.....and so will I).

And like all news and rumors, this 'counsel and wisdom' trickles down the grapevine to the rest of the family.

I think most rural thai's don't have bosses as such, they just scrape a living of the land, if they were so influenced by factory owners etc then Thaksin wouldn't spend so much time and money wooing them, but I could be wrong

IMO it's not influence on purpose or influence with an agenda, it's mostly emulation (by those in the countryside of their relatives in the cities, and in turn those relatives of those they look up to). I think a lot of foreigners would like to imagine that poor workers all hate their employers, but in reality a good number of enterprises are operated like huge extended families.

And as mentioned, it's trickle down to the relatives in the countryside from those working (and to a lesser extent studying) in the cities. It works both ways actually, surely there are those who have bosses and teachers who are aligned with the opposition parties as well.

Edited February 12, 2006 by Heng

[Heng]

but I'd rather have someone who can actually run businesses while skimming from the top >in charge< rather than someone who only knows how to skim from the top, side and bottom.

heng , surely you don't believe he could have been built such an empire without cronyism,nepotism and corruption on his side. every time he opens his mouth and makes a statement about solving some issue in 30 days , you have to wonder at his grasp on reality - to me he speaks like a salesman.

if Thailand is to proceed forward it has to interact with the outside world , and having a leader who could not be successful without stacking things in his favour is not going to help it there. Thailands honeymoon as an area for construction/manufacturing because of its cheap labour is nearing an end.

It is losing multi-billion dollar construction contracts because the trade off for cheap skilled labour does not overcome the ineptness and greed of the beauracracies and the petty tyrants that regard their area of influence as their own fiefdom and they wish to aspire to the heights of easy money as their idol mr't'

He built it on the same playing field that everyone of the same opportunities (and isms) had.

As for the status quo, I think "proceeding forward" isn't defined in the same way for everyone, especially for those who feel they have already arrived.

[ThaiPauly]

I do not for one minute think he will resign.

He has stated that the only way he will resign is if HM The King asks him too.

Being overthrown or impeached is still a strong possibility as the sale of Shincorp scandall is still rumbling along

[stumonster]

He built it on the same playing field that everyone of the same opportunities (and isms) had.

I doubt it was level as soon as his foot was in the door.

A real businessperson produces a compromise that is acceptable to both parties.

As for the status quo, I think "proceeding forward" isn't defined in the same way for everyone, especially for those who feel they have already arrived.

the price of energy production still rises - and the price of energy is tied to the cost of living - so how long do you thing your status quo will prevail?

[Heng]

He built it on the same playing field that everyone of the same opportunities (and isms) had.

I doubt it was level as soon as his foot was in the door.

A real businessperson produces a compromise that is acceptable to both parties.

As for the status quo, I think "proceeding forward" isn't defined in the same way for everyone, especially for those who feel they have already arrived.

the price of energy production still rises - and the price of energy is tied to the cost of living - so how long do you thing your status quo will prevail?

Yes, and he has. Unless you don't think his businesses have any customers.

Fortunately the status quo is pretty much the same the world over. It goes something like: the relatively better off get while the relatively less fortunate get....

[Boon Mee]

I concur with ThaiPauly - he won't resign and the days of military coups are pretty much done...

[Belfastboy]

the anti-thaksin demos are recieving high profile media here in the UK, which ive never known to happen before...but then again my interest in thailand is about 6 years old now...i blame the mrs..lol....

surely if there is enough groundswell support, HM King himself can see what right and whats wrong with the current government....

time for a change maybe?

[ilyushin]

Doc Tox will not resign. Although he is his own worst enemy , he will remain. He just talks too much and doesn't take time to think about his replies and answers. The military will not throw a coup as they are all classmates or just cling ons ( payroll). He will probably not run in the next election too much politics. This will be enough time to cover up the theft and misconduct of his office during his first two terms. He is also beginning to get worn and unable to mangage the party. I don't think he has it in him to keep control when elections come around again. As I told my son, he will not have to worry about Thaksin being PM when he is older, only deal with the damage done during his administration.

[sibeymai]

Thaksin is unlikely to resign, but could well be pushed by factions in TRT.

He's now practically unelectable as head of TRT (of course his home town of CM will always vote for him). The question is how many of the TRT MPs will want to force Thaksin out to maintain their own chances of getting re-elected on a TRT ticket ? If Thaksin remains many current TRT MPs will loose their seats, especially BKK MPs.

Since this is all about making money, and the best way to make money is to be an MP, if Thaksin doesn't resign I think we'll see many TRT MPs pressuring for a change of leadership, or leaving in droves in sufficient time to rebuild their chances of being elected again.

Don't be surprised if thaksin cites health of family reasons for calling it quits. It's about the only way he can exit and save face. If he resigns with too much egg on his face, or is forced to resign he looses too much face which will also affect his ability to continue to do business in Thailand in the future.