Big picture agenda is what wins voters

To me, the opposition’s main objective should be to show voters that they can govern better than whoever is in power, and that voters should choose them when the next election rolls around. Abac poll results suggest that the Democrats are far from having done that – even if PM Yingluck was …passing inside information at the hotel.

When she presented her policies to Parliament when taking office, PM Yingluck was roundly lambasted for having only myopic ideas, instead of showing us the Promised Land that she was going to lead us to, then showing how her short-term policies fitted into her long-term ones. Democrats, show us that your land of milk and honey fits our needs better than her’s in such vital matters as, say, water management or education. And, while you’re at it, explain why, when you were in power, you didn’t implement the Japan International Cooperation Agency water management plan of over a decade ago, and why you didn’t do much that was substantial to improve education, as shown by our continually abysmal international rankings.

If the Democrats can do that and credibly show why they’ll do better than Pheu Thai and than their own past record, then they’ll deserve to win next time – but they’ll need to focus on the big picture, not minutae.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok