May 27th, 2006, 16:13
I see poor Jane Marple is struggling to understand (let alone explain) what's going on in Thai politics over on The Bog of Shame, so here's a handy guide for the puzzled
The three pillars. In a democracy these are known as the separation of powers between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. In Thailand we have the Monarchy, the Army and the Monkhood. When you see the head of the army announce that the Army is and always will be subject to the elected government of the day, you can mark that down as the beginning of democracy in Thailand. Until then ...
Political parties. Traditionally there have the Democrats and the rest. The Democrat Party was (and probably still is) the only quasi-democratic-style political party in Thailand. The others are fiefdoms of the gangsters and regional warlords who control Thailand
Snouts in the trough. Gaining influence and pork-barelling is ancillary to Western politics. It is the sole purpose of Thai politics. You get elected and form a government solely to advance the interests of the political faction to which you belong
Thaksin. A former police general who, on retirement, was granted a highly lucrative police contract for the supply of computers and telecommunications. There was no transparent process to grant the concession and it was a monopoly. Thaksin has never looked back
Thai Rak Thai. Supposedly this means Thais Love Thais but it's rather more chauvinistic than that - Thais For Thais is probably a better translation. Essentially Thaksin couldn't bother spending the time building a majority political party in Thailand so he spent some of his fortune buying one. In the run up to the first Thaksin government the press was full of stories about how much money Thaksin had spent buying leaders of the various Thai parties and factions to join TRT. It is a grand coalition based solely on Shinawatra family money, and you will know when to believe that Thaksin really is leaving politics - TRT will fall apart. It didn't do so last month whe he said he was "stepping aside", so there should have been no surprises when he said he was coming back
Do elections matter? The upper house is dominated by members and hangers-on of the 500 families who it is regularly asserted really run Thailand. Nothing an elected government does will be allowed to threaten that vested interest in the short term
The street protests. Like the Tianenmen Square episode in China, saying that these are solely about Thaksin is simplistic. The growing Thai middle class is beginning to realise that they have little real representation within government. Like the movement towards true parliamentary government in the late Middle Ages in England or the revolt of the American settlers, or the French Revolution, the aspirations the protests embodies will have more and more influence - but largely only in Bangkok. Most Bangkokians are first generation whose priorities are towards supporting their families in the rural hinterland. Their children may have more of an interest in being involved in the government decisions that affect their lives
The three pillars. In a democracy these are known as the separation of powers between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. In Thailand we have the Monarchy, the Army and the Monkhood. When you see the head of the army announce that the Army is and always will be subject to the elected government of the day, you can mark that down as the beginning of democracy in Thailand. Until then ...
Political parties. Traditionally there have the Democrats and the rest. The Democrat Party was (and probably still is) the only quasi-democratic-style political party in Thailand. The others are fiefdoms of the gangsters and regional warlords who control Thailand
Snouts in the trough. Gaining influence and pork-barelling is ancillary to Western politics. It is the sole purpose of Thai politics. You get elected and form a government solely to advance the interests of the political faction to which you belong
Thaksin. A former police general who, on retirement, was granted a highly lucrative police contract for the supply of computers and telecommunications. There was no transparent process to grant the concession and it was a monopoly. Thaksin has never looked back
Thai Rak Thai. Supposedly this means Thais Love Thais but it's rather more chauvinistic than that - Thais For Thais is probably a better translation. Essentially Thaksin couldn't bother spending the time building a majority political party in Thailand so he spent some of his fortune buying one. In the run up to the first Thaksin government the press was full of stories about how much money Thaksin had spent buying leaders of the various Thai parties and factions to join TRT. It is a grand coalition based solely on Shinawatra family money, and you will know when to believe that Thaksin really is leaving politics - TRT will fall apart. It didn't do so last month whe he said he was "stepping aside", so there should have been no surprises when he said he was coming back
Do elections matter? The upper house is dominated by members and hangers-on of the 500 families who it is regularly asserted really run Thailand. Nothing an elected government does will be allowed to threaten that vested interest in the short term
The street protests. Like the Tianenmen Square episode in China, saying that these are solely about Thaksin is simplistic. The growing Thai middle class is beginning to realise that they have little real representation within government. Like the movement towards true parliamentary government in the late Middle Ages in England or the revolt of the American settlers, or the French Revolution, the aspirations the protests embodies will have more and more influence - but largely only in Bangkok. Most Bangkokians are first generation whose priorities are towards supporting their families in the rural hinterland. Their children may have more of an interest in being involved in the government decisions that affect their lives