You don't settle a struggle for power by backing one of the sides

I promised I wouldn’t contribute any more thoughts on Thailand’s governing, but with JC out there and now the veiled suggestion that the national healthcare policy is under scrutiny, I don’t see how I can keep my promise. JC referred to “the last self-serving government”. I have a flash for you JC, every government in Thailand for the past five or six decades has been self-serving and also dedicated to a mysterious brotherhood that I don’t believe any of us truly understand. 

The only exception to that was the Thaksin government, which did not belong to that brotherhood and thus resorted to populist programs and bought politicians in order to seize power. His national healthcare plan was a blessing to the poor of Thailand though and engendered him great support from the poor. It didn’t justify his existence, but it was the only good thing I have seen happen in Thailand because of a government in the 20 years I have been here.

Well, now things will get back in order, as it appears that the brotherhood is becoming fashionable again. It also appears that we will have high-speed trains and submarines rather than healthcare just like in the good old days, when there wasn’t any healthcare and Thailand could afford aircraft carriers and dirigibles. The only caveat I can see to these projections is how the government is going to go about eradicating the healthcare plan. That is going to be a very tricky undertaking without bringing the country back to what was going on in Bangkok prior to the junta. 

And what was going on in Bangkok was a power struggle. You don’t settle a power struggle by separating the combatants and then taking the side of one of them. You settle it by making them work out their differences and by instituting compromises. And buying submarines and high-speed trains while simultaneously seeking ways to kill a health plan is not what I call a compromise. Take off the blinders JC. There’s a lot going on out there.

John Arnone