In a Financial Times story from yesterday, Thai Caretaker PM Abhisit talks about the upcoming elections, his administration’s successes, Puea Thai’s proposed policies, and the risk of instability should the opposition win.
Also, don’t miss the full text of the lengthy interview.
Some Thailand related, some not…
According to a Reuters story today, Thai Caretaker Prime Minister Abhisit says the Democrats can still win, but worries about the opposition “ruining the rule of law” if it wins:
Asked to elaborate on what he saw as the risks if the opposition prevailed, he said: “Ruining the rule of law, causing instability and therefore a loss of economic opportunity.”
The NYT has a story about Yingluck Shinawatra from the campaign trail in Nakhon Phanom, northeastern Thailand. The lede says:
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 his clone: his younger sister Yingluck, who is a candidate for prime minister herself as the leader of the main opposition party.
There’s also a slideshow.
Reuters says “Former Manchester United and England captain Bryan Robson has resigned as Thailand’s national coach, the country’s soccer president said on Wednesday.” The reason for his departure is unclear.
The BBC also has a story.
Previous posts on issues surrounding the head of the Thai FA, England’s failed World Cup bid, and the cancelled England-Thailand friendly are here and here and here.
Today’s WSJ says that “As Thailand prepares for a national election, persistent political instability is threatening to further dent confidence in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy as it struggles to keep pace with its neighbors.”
Aljazeera English yesterday ran an interview with Thailand’s caretaker prime minister (that’s his official title now), Abhisit Vejjajiva. He talks about last year’s violence and the upcoming elections.
The video is online and embedded below:
Reuters ran four stories about Thai politics yesterday. One calls Yingluck Shinawatra “populist but pro-business” and provides a summary of her potential business policies:
Private-sector reforms, corporate tax cuts, wage increases and a big boost in domestic consumption could be on the cards for Thailand if Yingluck Shinawatra becomes the country’s first female prime minister after the July 3 general election.
The second story, a summary of the parties facing off, says:
Forty parties will contest a July 3 general election in Thailand, with the ruling Democrat Party and opposition Puea Thai Party jostling for first place and others vying for stakes in what is expected to be a coalition government.
The third piece provides basic details on the number of voters, candidates, parties, etc:
500 seats are up for grabs, an increase of 20 from the 2007 election. There will be 375 constituency seats available from 76 provinces and the capital, Bangkok, which has a quota of 33 of those seats. The remaining 125 seats will be decided by the party list vote.
And finally, the fourth story, a feature, describes Thailand’s “red shirt villages.” From the nut graf:
Ahead of a July 3 national election, dozens of rural communities are branding themselves a “Red Shirt Village” in this poor northeast plateau, home to a third of the country’s population, giving the movement grass-roots muscle to mobilize behind its parliamentary allies, the opposition Puea Thai Party.
Andy, author of Changwat, Amphoe, Tambon — one of my all-time favorite Thailand-related blogs — has a thoughtful round up of Thai election posters.
You may recall that last year, Andy created an interesting map of Bangkok featuring district district names.
(Image: Changwat, Amphoe, Tambon.)
Today’s Bangkok Post has a chart of various Thai political parties’ policies:
(Image: Bangkok Post. Link via TTR.)