Abhisit reaffirms stance against 'Grey Capital' and Thaksin Regime

Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader and prime ministerial candidate of the Democrat Party, campaigned at Benchasiri Park on a stage titled “Open the Sky, Bangkok, New Sky”, saying political reform must be carried out “with artistry” and without stirring hatred by “finding a villain” to mobilise people against one another.

Abhisit, wearing a grey T-shirt printed with the slogan “Grey shirt, people won’t accept it” under a white shirt, said many policies required change, but that real change should not come from conflict.

The former prime minister also said there had been repeated attempts to undermine institutions that are “a pillar of the nation”, arguing that emotional attacks did not lead to the reform, improvement or adjustment that should be pursued.

The Democrat Party would not tolerate “grey capital” and would no longer use sensitive issues to create division.

Referring to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, he questioned how many past governments had genuinely addressed the problem, and said there was no clear answer on whether an amnesty would be pursued.

The Democrat leader said those prosecuted under the law included academics, foreigners and people who had shown real intent to cause harm, and argued that different cases should not be treated the same.

He added that institutions must remain above politics and should not be used as a political pretext.

Abhisit also criticised what he described as mixed signals in the rivalry between the “blue” and “orange” camps, saying the leader of the People’s Party had said he would not vote for Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, but had not said he would refuse to invite the “blue” party if it finished first.

The questions were repeatedly directed at the Democrats about working with the “orange” camp, while that camp was still closely aligned with another party.

“The Bhumjaithai Party is bold enough to twist my words over joining a Pheu Thai-led government. I insist we have fought the Thaksin regime from the beginning, through the present, and into the future. Even though I don’t close the door, if the hand of the Thaksin regime reaches in, I will bite that hand off immediately,”

“People have distorted this into ‘the Democrat Party joining hands with Pheu Thai’, saying southerners are disappointed. Are you brave enough to declare you want Pheu Thai? And if you say you fear losing votes, are you brave enough to declare you don’t want the Democrat Party? If you dare, you’ll definitely be in opposition. If you fear that voting Democrat won’t make us number one, that’s not certain; the Democrat Party may still be the dark horse. But if we don’t make it, that’s fine. If people elect us in meaningful numbers, any government that wants us as a coalition partner must be serious about cracking down on grey capital and scammers. If not, we won’t join. We also won’t accept political parties that create conflict,” he said.

Abhisit said voting for the Democrats was “100% safe”, promising there would be no “grey-capital government” and no government that fuels division, but a government that puts people first.

With 28 days remaining, the Democrat leader said he was concerned about two things: voters choosing only the party-list ballot, even though constituency MPs were needed to strengthen work on the ground, and constituency races in Bangkok that many still considered uncertain.

“I know there will be attacks on me again, but I ask Bangkokians to set a clear direction. Please spread the word so the Democrats have a chance to come back. I entered politics at 27 and wanted to change the country. I succeeded in many things, but some I could not do,”

“In every era, I have been tied to Bangkok elections, sometimes losing, sometimes winning. But Bangkokians must be a force to steer the city in the direction it should go. In some eras, people chose the opposition to check power; in others, they wanted change and chose new faces. Today I ask once again: Bangkok, be the starting point of clean politics, reject division, and vote Democrat across the capital,” the Democrat leader said.