Was Thaksin a better monkey than the rest of us ?

As the country is slipping slowly into cahos 1997 style, I am starting to think that Thaksin was at least a monkey with more clues than the rest of them.

Could explain his "authoritarian management style" as he was surrounded by clueless monkeys in his own government.

Too bad his arrogance and determination was his own undoing.

Thaksin, a Thai too westernized who tried to shove it to the Thais ala farang style ?

His impatience with his Thai compatriots reminded me some of the local farangs reaction to Thai incompetence. Maybe it was the only way to do it.

I was afraid of this will happen when he got thrown out, the new crowd was much worse than the old crowd with a greater "moral Thai" agenda. The only good news out of this would be the Democrat Party taking over the country in the next election.

Thaksin, visionary or fraud ?

Khun Thaksin wanted to be HM Thaksin... This was his major undoing.

As for outfoxing the rest of his peers - well - he was predominantly ethnic Chinese. :)

I agree with you about election. Use our own right to choose the one to manage the country. I'm so bored with the mob and everything and i'm done with it. Mobs everyday don't make anything better, it's getting worse.

Something needs to be done about the endemic corruption in high places before any kind of democrat society can have any hope of functioning. Right now is the only chance to do it while the government is beholding to very few power brokers.

IMHO the best government is recent memory was the civilian government under the previous coup. The army was so unpopular that the prime minister had a free hand.

In a culture where the vast majority are convinced since childhood that they have a debt to pay to their family and their close friends, and where everyone learns that you can bribe officials to get what you want, how can you ever get rid of corruption at high levels?

It seems ingrained from the bottom up. Honest people are few and far between.

Few things can be worse than a military that's tried so often over so many years to gain power, and then have it, with not a clue how to use it but certain only that they're not easily going to hand it back to the people.

To be a sucessful country in Asia, it helps to be 'In with whitey'.

^You slagging the Chinese again ?

^ I have nothing against the Chinese - other than their treatment of cats.

Corruption, nepotism, and a casual disregard for the rights of citizens are endemic to politics in this part of the world.

The biggest obstacle to be overcome is the idea that a western style democracy can ever be made to work in Thailand. It can't, simple as that.

Whoever runs this country will always be surrounded by scandal and corruption. The best way forward is for someone to at least try to appear transparent, get on with the King and the military, and make a decent effort to improve the social infrastructure and public services. These measures are long overdue and have been neglected by every single government this century (with perhaps the odd 'honest' attempt which didn't ever go far enough).

Whilst the idea of a military government always sends shockwaves through the minds of western idealists, the truth is that they are a very powerful element in Thailand, and until that is understood and accepted, advocates of alternative styles of government will forever be disappointed.

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Originally Posted by Wallace

The biggest obstacle to be overcome is the idea that a western style democracy can ever be made to work in Thailand. It can't, simple as that.

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True. I said the same in another thread, so it must be. :)

Why does Indian democracy work and not Thai democracy?

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Originally Posted by Sir Burr

Why does Indian democracy work and not Thai democracy?

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You could argue that with their caste system that India is not really a true democracy either (whatever that is).

Caste plays more of a role in State politics, less so in National politics.

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Originally Posted by Sir Burr

Caste plays more of a role in State politics, less so in National politics.

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Fair enough, I'll bow to your superior knowledge on that one. I don't know much of India at all to be honest - except for we currently have some w*nkers there stealing IP from our Co.

However I do have my doubts that there really is such a thing as a 'true democracy' anywhere. I don't think much of Thaksin but he did make a valid point when he stated that countries like the US and Britain are essentially 'two party states'.

So apart from picking from one of two political parties (or, in effect, wasting your vote) what 'freedoms' are there really? It's an even more pertinent thought in the current environment where individual freedoms are being further and further eroded in the name of security and the like.

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Originally Posted by AntRobertson

I don't think much of Thaksin but he did make a valid point when he stated that countries like the US and Britain are essentially 'two party states'.

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To take that analogy further Thailand is a "one party state" as all the so called parties are just businessmen out for their own interests. They gather round the richest of the group such as Thaksin and have no real policies except the welfare of their bank accounts.

India is more like the US in that all the states are pretty much self-governing. Some work well and some don't. Also, India has a legacy from British rule, so many institutions are mature. They still had 40 odd years of darkness when they embraced the Bear of Russia rather than the enlightened path of Westernism.

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Originally Posted by Begbie

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Originally Posted by AntRobertson

I don't think much of Thaksin but he did make a valid point when he stated that countries like the US and Britain are essentially 'two party states'.

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To take that analogy further Thailand is a "one party state" as all the so called parties are just businessmen out for their own interests. They gather round the richest of the group such as Thaksin and have no real policies except the welfare of their bank accounts.

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And for a few years, they were all happy piggies with their snouts in the same trough as the democratically elected and immensely popular Thaksin piggie. Then some of them noticed that Thaksin's snout was so much bigger than anyone else snout, sucking up more and more while they got less and less. These piggies were worried that time was running out for them to be fat enough for that special day in the not too distant future when all things will change. So they called the army who as usual, didn't have a battery in the tank but reckon that all the loyal citizens will help them push start it since they can't find (or already sold) the very expensive jumper leads.