Neglect support base and be paid back in kind

The by-election in Bangkok’s Constituency 12, Don Muang district, last Sunday was not just another insignificant poll. It was widely followed and closely watched, not just by people in the constituency itself, but also by many observers around the country.

The reason for the increased interest was because people wanted to know whether the ruling Pheu Thai Party would be able to retain its seat there. After all, the party and its predecessors had held the seat for several years. And many people were also keen to find out whether the main opposition Democrat Party could win in a constituency where it has not won for 37 years.

The Democrat candidate, Tankhun Jitt-itsara, managed to narrowly defeat Pheu Thai’s Yuranunt Pamornmontri by a margin of slightly over 2,000 votes (32,710 against 30,624).

While Democrat politicians attributed Tankhun’s victory to people’s discontent at the government’s poor performance in some areas, their counterparts in the ruling party blamed Yuranunt’s loss on the fact that he had only a little over two weeks for campaigning ahead of the poll. Pheu Thai leader Charupong Ruangsuwan and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra were adamant about the limited time for campaigning as the cause of the loss. They rejected any link to the government’s performance and increasing public criticism in certain areas.

Yuranunt had resigned as a party-list MP to contest as a constituency MP, and many voters questioned the merit of doing so. Although Yuranunt was a popular actor before entering politics, he is less familiar with the constituents when compared to Tankhun, who has maintained close ties with local residents and communities despite his loss in the 2011 general election.  

In fact, many eligible voters in Don Muang are red-shirt supporters who naturally favour Pheu Thai. The previous MP for the constituency was red-shirt leader Karun Hosakul, who was disqualified by the court for making wrongful allegations against his ex-rival Tankhun ahead of the 2011 general election.

Critics point to growing dissatisfaction with the government, even among the ruling party’s alienated supporters. Many people are upset at the rising cost of living. Massive amounts of money are being wasted on populist projects such as the rice price-pledging scheme. There is also a growing sense of dissatisfaction over repeated acts of intimidation by some red-shirt supporters of the ruling party against government critics and protesters. This comes amid the rapid growth of the anti-government “white mask” movement, which has been something of a surprise for key Cabinet members.

The government and the Pheu Thai Party should learn lessons from this embarrassing election loss. First, they should not take voters for granted. Many of their supporters are not always loyal to them. It may be too soon for the government’s leaders to deny any connection with the loss, or to deflect responsibility from the government’s performance or violent acts by its supporters. 

Politicians of all stripes need to remember a basic principle: respect the constituents. Yet some politicians here, particularly those in rural and poorer areas, appear to believe in the power of money rather than the power of the electorate. They rely on buying votes to get elected, and many make promises that they fail to keep.

The verdict handed down last Sunday by Don Muang voters should also serve as a warning for the Democrats. They should not take voters for granted either, even in areas where they have a strong support base, or else they could be abandoned by alienated supporters as well.

Whatever the reason for their candidate’s victory, this remains an apt time for the Democrats to so some soul-searching about their future conduct. They should not just wallow in their success of achieving a rare victory in a difficult constituency. What they should do is make necessary improvements within the party – the country’s oldest political party – in order to make it a real alternative to Pheu Thai.