South China Morning Post
Thailand's political parties found wanting
5th December 2007 - Bangkok
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Being a voter in Thailand is, at once, easy and difficult. It's easy because there is little to choose between the parties, which mostly parrot the same ideas, largely ripped off from Thaksin Shinawatra's ousted government. And it's difficult because finding a party that stands for a coherent idea of how to manage society for the greatest good is a lost cause. That's especially so when most are little more than clubs hoping to usher their patron into office.
Voters are now more likely than in the past to weigh the policies and plans of the parties and their politicians, measuring them against the yardstick of the former ruling party, Thai Rak Thai. By and large, it stuck to its campaign promises - a near-revolutionary moment in Thai politics.
That is a legacy of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai; it turned politics upside down with the idea of a clear, simple policy manifesto attuned to voters' concerns. Given that perhaps nine out of 10 voters are farmers - at least for part of the year - this produced policies such as affordable health care and village credit pools.
Voters' biggest concerns revolve around the economy which, were it not for booming exports, would almost certainly be in recession. Political turmoil has left people nervous, many are not spending as much as they might. Rising oil prices are stoking worries about wage packets and inflation. The ceaseless violence in southern Thailand is also on many minds.
Parties are mostly serving up the cold leftovers of Thai Rak Thai populism, spliced with homage to the principles of a "sufficiency economy", developed and advocated by the revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej - who officially stays above politics.
Only the People's Power Party, the reincarnation of Thai Rak Thai, and the Democrats, a conservative party, have anything approaching coherent manifestos. But even they fall short, resorting to the abstract, and broad brushstrokes, where details are needed. Unsurprisingly, voter apathy is high.
It is, then, an election largely about faces, personalities and patronage. In other words, good, old-fashioned politics, though to call this "politics" perhaps implies more credit than is due. Certainly, the oratory of the past few weeks has been disappointing to say the least, rarely venturing above that of a school playground.
The result of the December 23 poll is probably going to be messy because the constitution, drawn up under the military, creates an election system seemingly designed to produce weak, coalition governments. No combination of parties can be ruled out; politicians are hungry for power after being locked out since September last year when the military seized control.
For example, a splinter group from the Muslim Wadah faction jumped on board one party, declaring that they shared the ideology of democracy.
If politicians fail to understand that democracy is a system, not an ideology, how can voters expect well-crafted policy packages targeting their very real needs?
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