Senator Huey Long: Thaksin's predecessor in 1930s Louisiana

I totally disagree with Somsak Pola’s claim that before Thaksin, Thailand was without form; was in the dark; and emptied of talent and prospect.

Thailand was well on track to developing its economy and democracy even before Thaksin came along. It is admissible, though, that the pace of growth has been a little slow compared with the fast-paced globalisation that was going on externally. But that may prove to be a plus for the country rather than for it to rush on, groping in the dark. 

In contrast, Thaksin pulled Thailand onto a different track by his cunningly thought-out populist programmes.

In the US in 1933, Senator Huey Pierce Long from Louisiana announced his intention to compete with then US President Franklin D Roosevelt in the 1936 election. Speculation abounded that Long could actually beat FDR, because Long was extremely popular in Louisiana for his populist programmes. Now, he was targeting the overall American electorate, who were facing the Great Depression and living with a jobless rate of over 20 per cent. The country was primed for an opportunistic populist leader. However, the seismic change in US politics did not occur: Huey Long was assassinated in 1935 by the son-in-law of a judge whom he intended to remove from office.

To make a long story short, what Thaksin did to Thailand is similar to what Huey Long did to the state of Louisiana and almost would have done to the United States had he lived longer. There is a documentary and a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel based on his life, together with the 1949 Academy Award-winning movie of the same title: “All the King’s Men”.

Of particular note was the documentary “Huey Long” (1985). It shows that 50 years after his death, Huey Long remains an important subject of debate. The people who supported him as a hero are very much there (most were in their teens during Long’s heyday). What’s striking is that, judging from the way they dress and talk in the film, these people still look very poor and uneducated. Half a century of populism has hardly given them any progress!

Vint Chavala

Lamphun