Pheu Thai needs to learn from its losses
First, congratulations to candidates Thankhun and Yuranunt for a hard-fought but clean contest - one that was so close that both parties must constantly seek to fill the needs of Don Muang residents rather than take them for granted - and that is as a tru
Pheu Thai should take their loss in the city governor’s election and Don Muang to heart, and humbly undertake far-reaching reforms – which the Democrats haven’t yet done, despite having been swamped in election after election.
“All politics is local” (Tip O’Neil). So, would Don Muang residents want their MP to take orders from them – or from far-away Dubai? Or, when such credible persons like the one whom Yingluck had just appointed Bank of Thailand chairman for his economic expertise say, “”I disagree with the government’s plan to use taxpayers’ money to subsidise the state’s rice pledging scheme... The government had better shift its focus to promote high-value crops,” she should carefully analyse what these well-meaning people, who know far more about economics than she or her brother, instead of brushing it off.
When the state buys rice at B15,000 per tonne but no farmer reports receiving the full amount, does Yingluck still think that there’s no corruption involved? When she insists on aiding rich farmers as well as the poor ones, by not capping the amount that any one person can receive, does she want voters to think she’s helping them – or herself?
Pheu Thai, like the Democrats, should learn from failure – or see history repeat itself.
Burin Kantabutra
Bangkok
