kamui Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Candidate in Thailand Follows Path of Kin By SETH MYDANS NAKHON PHANOM, Thailand — Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup more than four years ago, is back at the center of Thai politics in the guise of the person he calls [color:red]his clone[/color]: his younger sister Yingluck, who is a candidate for prime minister herself as the leader of the main opposition party. The party, Pheu Thai, which is being guided by Mr. Thaksin, 61, from his refuge in Dubai, is leading in opinion polls in advance of the July 3 election. A victory would again put him in conflict with the leaders of the armed forces and the entrenched elite who backed a military coup in September 2006. “Let me introduce myself: I am the youngest sister of Thaksin Shinawatra,†Yingluck Shinawatra, 43, told an enthusiastic crowd at a political rally here last week, forthright about her background as a company manager whose only political experience had been watching and learning from her brother. “I’m the sister who always hears from Thaksin that he misses his people so much,†she said. “Let’s hear it for Dubai!†she said in a cry that was met with cheers. She was campaigning in Thaksin territory, northeastern Thailand, home to many of the antigovernment “red shirt†demonstrators who staged a two-month protest in Bangkok that was crushed by the military in May 2010. About 90 people were killed in the violence, most of them protesters. Her campaign represents an [color:red]extraordinary resurrection for Mr. Thaksin[/color], the most divisive personality in the country. He was pronounced politically dead by many analysts after the coup, and he remains abroad to evade imprisonment for a corruption conviction, as well as a charge of terrorism for his role in backing the red-shirt demonstrations. “I think very simply Thaksin has made this election about him,†said Chris Baker, a British analyst of Thai politics who has written a biography of Mr. Thaksin. “I think he did it not just by moving in Yingluck but also by the statement on the election posters: ‘Thaksin thinks and the party does.’ †“Those two things together make it very clear [color:red]that this election is about nothing else[/color],†he said. “It’s about Thaksin and what has happened to him in the last five years.†Those years have been tumultuous: five prime ministers have come and gone, street protests have paralyzed parts of Bangkok, the capital’s two airports have been taken over and there have been outbreaks of violence, including attacks on Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva, the storming of the Parliament building and the disruption of a meeting of Asian heads of state. The turbulence is part of a power struggle between the country’s establishment — royalists, bureaucrats, senior military officers and business leaders — and the rural poor majority who have lionized Mr. Thaksin. A [color:red]fundamental shift in Thailand’s traditional hierarchical system of status and power[/color] has, in large part, become personalized as a contest between supporters and opponents of Mr. Thaksin. Analysts say that rather than resolving the conflict, the election is likely to lead to more confrontations, either in Parliament, in the streets or through military intervention. The rapid rise and fall of governments in recent years, followed by protests and violence, has demonstrated that neither side is prepared to accept electoral defeat. “We are in the middle of [color:red]change of historic proportions[/color] in Thai political society, and a change that will take a long time to work through,†Mr. Baker said. “I’m talking 10 years, that sort of time frame. Along that way there are going to be various crises and various negotiations.†If Pheu Thai wins power, Ms. Yingluck said, it will seek a general amnesty for people convicted of political crimes, a move aimed at clearing the way for Mr. Thaksin’s return. He has vowed to be back in Thailand by the end of the year, but analysts question whether his promise is anything more than a political tactic to rally his base. Ms. Yingluck’s stump speech consists of a series of applause lines emphasizing the populist programs that earned Mr. Thaksin the devotion of the country’s poor: cheap health care, a debt moratorium, a minimum wage increase, a price guarantee for rice, funds for village governments, welfare for the elderly and special credit cards to reduce costs for farmers. “Not only lowering the cost of living, but putting money in your pocket — that’s what Pheu Thai will do,†she told the crowd here in Nakhon Phanom last week. “Do you like our policies?†The incumbent Democrat Party is fighting back with promises of its own, including a 25 percent increase in the minimum wage. The central bank has warned that the expensive populism of both parties could strain the economy and spur inflation. Mr. Thaksin’s selection of the youngest of his eight siblings to lead the party appears to be an inspired move. Ms. Yingluck is a fresh and attractive face who is not connected to the confrontations of the past few years, and promises what she herself calls the gentle touch of a woman. She would be the first female prime minister in Thai history. “[color:red]She’s beautiful, smart and rich[/color],†declared a speaker who took the stage before her. Ms. Yingluck is proving to be a quick study in a slick and carefully managed campaign, and she appears to be increasingly confident in issuing what seem to be carefully rehearsed political statements. But her advisers are not yet confident enough to accept the Democrat Party’s repeated demands that she debate Mr. Abhisit. Her candidacy has energized Mr. Thaksin’s fraying and feuding party and has led to an [color:red]immediate improvement in its poll numbers[/color]. Pheu Thai is predicting either an outright majority of the 500 parliamentary seats available or a plurality that would give it the right to form a coalition government. “People think she has the same vision as her brother,†said Sithichai Wonwandee, a local official who is running for village chief. “So she’s like the same person as Thaksin.†But that could be a double-edged sword when Ms. Yingluck ventures outside red-shirt country and encounters large numbers of her brother’s opponents, and it is not clear whether she can sustain the image that has buoyed her poll numbers. In accepting her role as Mr. Thaksin’s proxy, she has opened herself to attacks involving the corruption allegations against him. A group of her opponents has already accused her of perjury in a corruption case against her brother last year. Analysts said the road ahead could become more difficult as the election approaches. NYT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi, "who staged a two-month protest in Bangkok that was crushed by the military in May 2010. About 90 people were killed in the violence, most of them protesters." Interesting that the burnings were totally left out here. Comes back to that columnist mentioning that the 90 deaths are constantly mentioned, but that there is very little mention of the crap done by the red shirts. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted June 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi, "who staged a two-month protest in Bangkok that was crushed by the military in May 2010. About 90 people were killed in the violence, most of them protesters." Interesting that the burnings were totally left out here. Comes back to that columnist mentioning that the 90 deaths are constantly mentioned, but that there is very little mention of the crap done by the red shirts. Sanuk! Because the narrative of the Red Shirt being crushed is much easier to tell and is much easier to digest by the Western audience. As the author said, it is a struggle between the old elite and the poor farmers. And the poor farmers (and/or their leaders) can't do wrong, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi, "it is a struggle between the old elite and the poor farmers" Right, and - as I am sure you know - it is hardly as straight forward as the above. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 The Shinawatras are a well known family of poor farmers. One of them even was famous as a singer - Frank! p.s. A taxi driver from Issan - but not a red shirt supporter - explained it to me this way the other day. Thaksin did a little for the Issan folks. It wasn't very much, but it was more than any other PM had done for them. Thus they support him, hoping he may do a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted June 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi, "it is a struggle between the old elite and the poor farmers" Right, and - as I am sure you know - it is hardly as straight forward as the above. Sanuk! Yep, that's what I wanted to say: the narrative "poor farmers against the rich city elite" is very simple to tell and understand, while the reality is far more complicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 OK...time to get this board back on track... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 and too old... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 43-year-old Chinese women with a ton of makeup don't turn me on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Hi, "it is a struggle between the old elite and the poor farmers" Right, and - as I am sure you know - it is hardly as straight forward as the above. Sanuk! It's actually more of a struggle between a new wannabe elite and the old elite, Chinese-Thai millionaires battling for power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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