Tuesday, February 08, 2005
From FinanceGates.com:
Thaksin Shinawatra has become the first Thai Prime Minister who succeeded in winning a second term and a single-party mandate. Estimates of final results on Monday, delayed by complaints of fraud and cheating, gave his Thai Rak Thai party (which means "Thais Love Thais") about 370 out of 500 seats in parliament.
My adoration for all things (ie. indie movies) thai has extended somewhat to a chance observation of its politics in recent days, especially wit all that coverage on elections not football. When both academics and analysts alike are critiquing his populist policies to be shortsighted, Thaksin certainly has got quite a fair bit to prove in the coming term.
I just read a review the other day on how the brilliant gdp figures were all built on debt-fueled expenditures, not a smart sustainable move - now we know where 'populist' comes in. His single-party government idea sounds more than vaguely familiar in this part of the region, yet if it works I guess rather that than another 1997. (Have we spotted the trend finally; how we always succumb to it in the face of economic stability, a more urgent issue a result of globalization?)
On another (wholly unrelated) note, we know he is among thailand's richest, yet I don't see the justification for his son to flaunt it all in a major fashion faux pas. Not to say that his sisters look anything resembling elegant fashionistas, pantongtae should at the very least learn from their understated teenage school girl styles.
(Source)
Thaksin Shinawatra has become the first Thai Prime Minister who succeeded in winning a second term and a single-party mandate. Estimates of final results on Monday, delayed by complaints of fraud and cheating, gave his Thai Rak Thai party (which means "Thais Love Thais") about 370 out of 500 seats in parliament.
My adoration for all things (ie. indie movies) thai has extended somewhat to a chance observation of its politics in recent days, especially wit all that coverage on elections not football. When both academics and analysts alike are critiquing his populist policies to be shortsighted, Thaksin certainly has got quite a fair bit to prove in the coming term.
I just read a review the other day on how the brilliant gdp figures were all built on debt-fueled expenditures, not a smart sustainable move - now we know where 'populist' comes in. His single-party government idea sounds more than vaguely familiar in this part of the region, yet if it works I guess rather that than another 1997. (Have we spotted the trend finally; how we always succumb to it in the face of economic stability, a more urgent issue a result of globalization?)
On another (wholly unrelated) note, we know he is among thailand's richest, yet I don't see the justification for his son to flaunt it all in a major fashion faux pas. Not to say that his sisters look anything resembling elegant fashionistas, pantongtae should at the very least learn from their understated teenage school girl styles.
(Source)
