PM urges rival parties to bury differences

[Fatty123]

I gather from the posts of some above that they think the current PM is siding with the Democrats, there I have said it where other just elude to it.

The rival factions, have in the past, hated each other, no to put to fine a point on it. We have oppositon parties in the west who hate each from 9-5 then they get along fine. The rival parties need to all become good losers and wait for the next election, not the next opportunity to create discord.

The PM is asking all sides to wait for and abide for the new rules, it seems a simple request, I wonder if it is that simple in Thailand? We will only know after the next election, until then let us give Prayuth the time to put his plan into action and let us hope that the political rivals can reform themselves as well for the good of the land, time will tell.

Agree with most of that. Thing is, for over half a century the elites have not been 'good losers'. They cannot and will not allow anyone else but themselves to feed at the trough (and yes, PT were guilty of that too).

Democracy is the only real hope. Not a watered down ''vote for anyone you like..out of these candidates approved by the military''. That is still not democracy. Not even close.

Democracy isn't perfect. People lose money. People make money, Things can change for better and for worse. However, people learn and can vote out a party they don't like. Be it for economic reasons or being too authoritarian. Yes, domocracy isn't perfect, but it's the best system there is. The elite need to wake up and smell the coffee. Thailand is not part of some magical fairy story. People compare N.Korea and even China as proof that the elite can opress and get away with it for generations. The big difference being Thais have had much more freedom than N.Koreans and the Chinese. Try using social media in China. Try using the internet in N.Korea!

It's much more difficult to dictate to those that have had relative freedoms. If any authoritiarian government attempts this then they may be risking more than they realise. Some may say that the elite only care about themselves. If they do, they should look at what history tells them.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Fatty123

[baboon]

I wonder how much he and his backers would like it if the squabbling factions did indeed reconcile and turn their attention to the greens and the stratosphere...

[aaacorp]

Added to ignore list.

You should add everybody on your ignore list so you could have a proper discussion with yourself as it seems we are all ignorants and you are a beacon of light in those dark ages...

I m sure from where you come from you re quite happy to be able to vote. Why would you forbid thais to do the same? are they too ignorant, too corrupted? Is it better to have somebody who clearly rule the country as a kinder garden and made real those wonderful ideas :

- the south is violent, let's send more weapons to the civils to see how that will work

-let's close everything at 2am in the country so the tourists will spend much more money in dvd rentals than in bars/disco/restaurant/taxi/... or simply change their holiday destination.

- tell in a conference that after all those two british may be a bit responsible for what happen to them as they were wearing suggestive bikinis.

- Why give a sh't about the ASEAN and the risks of losing competitivity with cambodia and burma

Let's change the statues in his office as there was bad feng shui

- let's tell the country on tv that you feel ghosts around you and can feel them but decided to solve the problem with monks and holy water

- Do not give a feeling of justice by letting the heir of redbull with his yearly cough in singapore

- Do the same with the owner of Central

-Ban a video game called Tropico because it may remember some actions of a junta

....

Ask the tourists and the people around you and if you speak a bit thai just listen to what they really think about their daily life and how El presidente is really seen.

In fact the thai should vote for you!

Edited December 8, 2014 by aaacorp

[DaffyDuck]

It's quite interesting that nearly every single of your bullet points applies perfectly well to the Shinawatra style of ruling, as that is nearly exactly what happened under Thaksin as well.

You're one of those two week tourists, I take it, and completely unfamiliar with the dynamics of Thai culture and politics, right?

[tonbridgebrit]

I gather from the posts of some above that they think the current PM is siding with the Democrats, there I have said it where other just elude to it.

The rival factions, have in the past, hated each other, no to put to fine a point on it. We have oppositon parties in the west who hate each from 9-5 then they get along fine. The rival parties need to all become good losers and wait for the next election, not the next opportunity to create discord.

The PM is asking all sides to wait for and abide for the new rules, it seems a simple request, I wonder if it is that simple in Thailand? We will only know after the next election, until then let us give Prayuth the time to put his plan into action and let us hope that the political rivals can reform themselves as well for the good of the land, time will tell.

Agree with most of that. Thing is, for over half a century the elites have not been 'good losers'. They cannot and will not allow anyone else but themselves to feed at the trough (and yes, PT were guilty of that too).

Democracy is the only real hope. Not a watered down ''vote for anyone you like..out of these candidates approved by the military''. That is still not democracy. Not even close.

Democracy isn't perfect. People lose money. People make money, Things can change for better and for worse. However, people learn and can vote out a party they don't like. Be it for economic reasons or being too authoritarian. Yes, domocracy isn't perfect, but it's the best system there is. The elite need to wake up and smell the coffee. Thailand is not part of some magical fairy story. People compare N.Korea and even China as proof that the elite can opress and get away with it for generations. The big difference being Thais have had much more freedom than N.Koreans and the Chinese. Try using social media in China. Try using the internet in N.Korea!

It's much more difficult to dictate to those that have had relative freedoms. If any authoritiarian government attempts this then they may be risking more than they realise. Some may say that the elite only care about themselves. If they do, they should look at what history tells them.

Fatty123, I think making the comparison between North Korea and China is a bit silly !

China is a country that is flooding Europe and America with cheap goods, and Australia and Africa are reliant on the Chinese juggernaut to import their raw materials. London and Paris are also going all out the attract the Chinese tourists from China, and hey, the number of Chinese tourists turning up in Thailand is increasing as the years go by. There's far more Chinese tourists in 2014 than 2004, there's bound to be loads more in 2024 !

Whilst North Korea, well yes, North Korea is almost sealed off from the rest of the world. North Korea is not exporting cheap goods, and nobody is recieving tourists from North Korea. Who on earth is scared if North Korea was to boycott them ?

Okay, Thailand, what about Thailand ? In Thailand's case, Thailand has already experimented with 'democracy'. Thailand has already had general elections. China has never had these elections. And here's the point, I think certain things in life are IRREVERSIBLE. Once it's happened, then, that's it, people are not going back. It's like "women's lib" in America and Europe. Nobody can reverse the changes.

So Thais are demanding a general election. It's just a case of whether the junta can generate enough supporters to vote for the junta, and not vote for Thaksin. There's also the issue of Abhisit obeying orders and pulling out of a general election. Abhisit can't win an election, we all know that. But Abhisit taking part will split the anti-Thaksinite vote and hand a victory to Thaksin.

Abhisit's self-ambition might mean that he's going to insist on taking part in an election (an election called and organised by the junta), and Abhisit might end up placing Thaksin back in charge.

Life, you have to see who you think is the real enemy. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice yourself to remove the one (the one that you think) who is the real enemy. Is Abhisit going to do it ???

[DaffyDuck]

There's also the issue of Abhisit obeying orders and pulling out of a general election. Abhisit can't win an election, we all know that. But Abhisit taking part will split the anti-Thaksinite vote and hand a victory to Thaksin.

Abhisit's self-ambition might mean that he's going to insist on taking part in an election (an election called and organised by the junta), and Abhisit might end up placing Thaksin back in charge.

Life, you have to see who you think is the real enemy. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice yourself to remove the one (the one that you think) who is the real enemy. Is Abhisit going to do it ???

I think we can both agree on what you wrote above - and this one is easy enough to achieve. All Abhisit has to do is 'boycott' any such general election, for whatever reasons he gives ("it's not democratic") and he can save face, while not 'violating his principles'.

The other far easier solution is to have Prayuth offer Abhisit an active seat in his cabinet, while also offering a similar seat (albeit more ceremonial than active) to Yingluk. This, IMO, is by far the better strategy.

It offers Abhisit the opportunity to gain more experience in an active position, readying him for an eventual future election and candidacy - and it could repurpose Yingluk as conduit to open talks with Thaksin (or make it seem that way - if she won't walk away from such an offer, Thaksin will refuse to be a tool in such a game, making him seem unreasonable ("we extended the olive branch to him, he wouldn't accept it").