PM Yingluck finds firmer footing since flood crisis
Play
Yingluck Shinawatra has come of age in the position of prime minister. Government critics need to rethink if they still believe Yingluck is a stopgap leader keeping the seat warm for the man in Dubai.
In a recent remark, “He is not coming home just yet,” she has not just quelled the controversy about the homecoming plans for her fugitive brother Thaksin but also asserted her leadership.
PM Yingluck has survived the sink-or-swim lesson faced during last year’s massive flood. She has managed to gain a firm footing instead of being swept away by the run-off.
Her unique leadership has the ability to deflect whatever problems come her way to the backyards of someone else. And she has executed her deflection in a discreet manner, so few accuse her of dodging her responsibility.
In politics, the fine line between astuteness and wickedness is often blurred.
Last week, Social Development and Human Security Minister Santi Promphat pushed through the removal of his permanent secretary Panita Kambhu na Ayutthaya.
Yingluck went along with Santi’s decision. She then turned around to give a hug to Panita in a gesture of support for a bid to clear her name.
Pheu Thai MP Pravat Utamote has mounted a fierce political battle for the reinstatement of Panita, his sister, so the prime minister has opted to remain a good friend to both sides. Even though each is trying to corner her to choose a side, she has kept her distance by branding the issue as personal.
At one stroke, she took the Panita case out of her responsibility, to be resolved by Santi and Pravat.
Faced with high costs of living attributed to rising fuel prices, Yingluck convened an urgent meeting of ministers in charge of the economy.
The government hyped up the meeting to highlight her prompt attention to the soaring price of essential goods. Emerging after the meeting, she kept mum on whether the government had mapped out any tangible measures to keep prices in check.
She took full credit for addressing the cost of living but delegated Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong to take the heat from the public about recent price increases.
Government critic Thirayuth Boonmi has been highly critical of Thaksin administrations and his populist policies. But on Sunday, he could not find the words to critique the Yingluck leadership.
Thirayuth spent so much time rehashing his old critique of Thaksin before making a prediction that Yingluck could win a best-dressed woman award.
It is a common mistake of men to assume beauty comes without a brain. But if Yingluck is seen as an airhead, then why has a political veteran like Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrat leader, failed time and again to outpace her popularity?
With less than a year at the helm of the government, Yingluck is not yet in the same class of world leaders such as Britain’s Margaret Thatcher or Germany’s Angela Merkel. She seems, however, to possess two qualities that might help her to outwit and outlast her opponents.
The first is her rightful place as an heiress for the political fortune of populist policies. For better or worse, the majority of voters have embraced a quick fix to their grievances rather than making a long-term sacrifice. This is the political reality manifested in elections since 2001.
The second quality is her ability to claim credit and deflect the blame. As long as PM Yingluck can pass on the blame with few detecting or complaining about her cunning, she is safe in her job.
