Vote buying by any other name

Everyone likes freebies, a trait that successive Thai governments have exploited to retain power, including the junta that’s been running the country for the past four years. The generals are now pinning hopes on winning a mandate from voters in the coming election, their ambitions bolstered by a Constitution they authored that tilts the playing field in their favour. 
Cautious of a determined opposition led by parties in the service of Thaksin Shinawatra, the junta is doubling down with goodies 
promised to the rural poor, over whom the self-exiled former 
premier continues to hold undeniable sway.
What the military-led government is offering, the Bt38-billion Pracharat Welfare for Grassroots Economy Fund, is aimed squarely at the 14.5 million holders of state welfare cards. We are again seeing a favourite term of the generals – pracharat – found also in the name of the recently established political party Palang Pracharat Party. The party’s acknowledged platform is to support the return of Prayut Chan-o-cha as prime minister after the election.
Pracharat refers somewhat obliquely to a “people’s state” and thus the connotation is populist. The junta does indeed believe its decision to topple a democratically elected government in 2014 was done for the good of the people, to restore stability and to bring state corruption to a halt. Having seized power at the barrel of a gun, the generals spoke of comprehensive reforms. Beyond ending the mayhem in the streets, though, little changed. Reform efforts fizzled, leaving the junta government scrambling for ways to legitimise its rule and cling to power.
The junta constitution was approved in a public referendum about which open debate was not allowed. Had the military ensured more public participation in the drafting of the charter, it would have won far more support, Thailand might have made genuine progress in these four years, and all citizens could feel more confident in moving forward.
Given the scant confidence in the government today, the junta is tapping the state budget to boost its popularity. Popularity for the generals is not about leaving a future legacy but about retaining power now. That mission shouldn’t by too difficult, in fact, considering that the constitution lets the junta appoint 250 senators to help elected lawmakers choose the next prime minister. 
Prayut’s continuance in that role is not an end in itself, however. The people will ultimately decide how the next government governs. If the economy is doing well, they might well let the generals continue to rule. If, however, there is a shock – imagine the anti-junta red shirts reoccupying the streets and violence resuming – then the military will struggle to maintain any role in politics.
For now, the generals are offering voters cash. “I don’t want the media to say this government just gives people money for political purposes,” Prayut snorted. “Everything has been done according to the law. It’s just a coincidence that it has been finalised now. Don’t make everything about politics.” Asked why the government had embarked on a spending spree, government spokesman Puttipong Punnakanta concurred that it wasn’t political, insisting instead that the planned subsidy was partly designed to relieve the people’s burden. 
Given the timing, the words of both men strike us as insults to the average voter’s intelligence.