Making a silk purse from a sow's ear
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Re: "If Pheu Thai says the charter is bad, it must be pretty good", Letters, September 6.
The headline belies my original text. My criticism of the charter is that it tries to cook the books for the electorate so as to get back to the “good old days” when no single party held sway. The 2000 government was an example of a multi-party coalition. The 2004 government comprised the same bodies, but they had changed hats. They can split up into “rival” parties and gang up after the election.
What needs changing is political ethics.
The Pheu Thai Party kept bleating that the draft charter was bad because it would not lead to reconciliation. But failing to acknowledge misdeeds of the past (or denying they existed) will not lead to reconciliation either.
Trying to get democracy from the recent crop of politicians is like making a silk purse out of a pig’s ear. Thailand is known for its silk. Now is the time to make the change.
Richard Bowler
