Tag Archives: politics

Do You Touch the Third Rail?

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At the birthplace of the United States Tuesday afternoon, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama addressed the issue of race in America as part of the Presidential campaign.  Race has always been one of the “third rails” of American politics: you can use it, hint at it, or ignore it, but don’t touch it!

Obama Philly Senator Obama’s speech was one of the most honest and informative on the topic that I’ve read.  Instead of trying to follow politically expedient routes, he instead talked about the issue in a way that I think all Americans can relate to. 

Regardless of our racial identity, almost all Americans have in their hearts a complex web of conflicting thoughts, feelings and experiences as it relates to race.  Even the most liberal-minded among us are tainted by the fears, innuendo, and racism we’ve been exposed to in our lives.

Even though the nature of the campaign for the White House encourages us to think about race in very reductionist ways, the issue is one that very much exists and very much influences our lives.  And yet, as the Senator points out, it is time to “move beyond some of our old racial wounds.”

“The comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have not yet made perfect.  And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education or the need to find good jobs for every American.”

Regardless of your political persuasion or, for that matter, nationality, I’d encourage you to take fifteen minutes to read the full text of Senator Obama’s speech.  For Americans, it gives some much-needed food for thought.  For people outside of the US, it provides an interesting insight into how the issue of race uniquely affects our country’s culture and politics.

The full text of the Senator’s speech is here.

 

Thailand returns to democracy but the fun is hardly over

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Sunday, December 23rd the Thai people went to the polls to elect a new government, the first democratic elections since a military-led coup toppled the constitution in September 2006.  The coup government claimed that the coup was held because Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai (“Thais love Thais”) party were corrupt and had undermined the nation’s democracy.  After an investigation, a court dissolved TRT and banned 111 of its leaders from politics for five years.

From the ashes of the largely populist TRT, which despite allegations of vote buying in previous elections seems to legitimately have the support of a large majority of the Thai citizens, rose the People Power Party.  With obvious connections to exiled Thaksin, PPP leader Samak Sundaravej has made clear that one of the PPP’s planks is 23thai_600 to continue TRT’s popular policies. 

Another plank is to let Thaksin return to Thailand and receive a fair trial.  The implication is that the 111 TRT leaders could be cleared of all charges and return to politics.

How much do PPP members support Thaksin?  This Bangkok Post picture, right, shows them at a rally wearing Thaksin masks.  TRT/PPP has been especially popular in the North and Northeast sections of the country, with Khrungthep forming the crucial battleground for the elections.

Samsak  Abhisit

The 72-year old Samak (left), a crotchety veteran of Thai politics known for berating “irreverent” female reporters, faces off against the rival Democrat Party, led by 43-year old Oxford-educated Abhisit Vejjajiva (right) who was described by The Economist magazine as handsome but ineffectual.

The Democrats, a historically conservative party that is royalist in nature that is the primary challenge to the PPP, has in recent years had a difficult time building any effective support beyond the urban middle class in Khrungthep and the residents of the conflict-torn South.

 

The Campaign

Thai election campaigns are more about parties than individual candidates.  With the new constitution, each region of the country is given three representative seats so parties have promoted trios of candidates who are generally not notable with the exception of being from a particular party.  We don’t need to know anything about them beyond their profession or the family they’re from.  All we need to know is that they are a member of a particular party.

The party leaders, Samak and Abhisit included, have been the only point where there has been any policy debate.  Most of this has been general and couched in elusive terms.  “We’re for the country and happiness!” could easily be the slogan of any of the seven parties.

Campaign signs are generally dull.  For example:

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From upper left: “Please vote for all the team members” from the Democrat Party.  Prachai Liawpirat, the leader of the Machimatitapai Party, an entrepreneur who is positioning himself essentially as a new Thaksin.  Ruam Jai Thai Chat Pattana Party (“Thai Togetherness, the Nation Progresses”) puts forth a slate of multi-colored shirts with the slogan, “Choose as you think best, for the life of the Khrungthep residents”.   Chart Thai (the #3 ranked party) leader, Banharn Silpa-archa, who is known by his nickname “Tung” referring to his passing resemblance to Mao Tse Tung.  Tung actually is a key player here, which I’ll talk about in a moment.

The only campaigning that was really interesting was that put up by Chart Thai’s Khrungthep candidates, who are really emphasizing their youth and being part of a new generation, fed up by the past.  Their posters, four of which I’ll explain below, are really funny.

P1030324 Left: “We smell the bad smell of “polluted water” politics.  Do you also?”  The line drawing behind them show a crowd of people holding their noses, too.  The expression nam naw refers to the polluted water that are underneath slum houses, for example along a khlong. 

The expression is used idiomatically to mean someone or something that is overly dramatic for no purpose.  For example, soap operas on television are called lakon nam naw – literally, “polluted water show”.

The funny event in all of this is that Tung, the leader of Chart Thai, was on a campaign stop in a slum area in Bangkok and the floor collapsed under him and he literally ended up in the nam naw.  This led to all sorts of jokes that he, too, had been tainted by the bad smell of polluted politics.

The last laugh will be on Tung, though, because unless the PPP or the Democrats get a significant majority in the elections, they will need to form a coalition government and Chart Thai is running third in the polls.  As was pointed out after the nam naw incident, Tung might be smelling bad now but after the elections, the other parties will be coming up to sniff his cheeks.

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Left: “Choose the team of the new generation, for the new era of politics” featuring Apikiat “Bo” Janpanit (#10) as the “captain” of the team, a perfect allusion in this football-mad country.  Center: “Time to take out the political tape worms” with an image of a tape worm medicine bottle superimposed over Apikiat’s face.  Right: “Too many new political parties, but the old faces again?  Young people get bored.”  Despite #12’s looking like he isn’t part of the young generation, Chart Thai is trying to drum up support among the younger generation.

 

The Results

The polls closed at 3:00 in the afternoon and three different exit polls are indicating that the PPP has won the largest segment of seats in the new parliament, although by how much is the question.  One poll puts their lead at 256 of the 480 seats, to the Democrat’s 162.  Other polls show the margin narrower.  If the PPP does get around that many seats, they may be able to form a government on their own.  But if their margin is narrower, they will have to form a coalition, which could lead to instability.

Either way, there is no doubt that the political turmoil will continue.  The current government was making overt efforts to discredit the PPP’s campaign before the election, including raising questions about vote buying and the inappropriate appearance of a campaign VCD distributed in the north with a message from Thaksin.  This looks like groundwork to potentially invalidate the election results afterwards. 

In the past two weeks, the King has publicly appealed to the nation no less than three times – a rare excess of appearances – asking for unity in this difficult time.  It will be interesting to see if his subjects pay heed to his request.

One thing is certain: stay tuned over the months to come for more political uncertainty.

 

Khun Abhisit at the FCCT

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Another week has been zipping by – I can’t believe it is Thursday already!  What happened to the days of my childhood when weeks were agonizingly long and time passed by like molasses in January?

These past three days have all been about work with several projects competing for my attention.  It is difficult when all of your internal customers are convinced that their project is the number-one priority.  At least it provides a bit of job security.

Here are some pictures taken over the last week that I haven’t had an opportunity to share yet:

Our condo has two balconies.  The one facing the southwest is small and functional, enough room to set up laundry racks but nothing very special as it just hangs from the side of the building.

The other balcony faces the northeast and is one of four building corners that overlook the pool and deck area.  Being by the pool is very nice.  There is the sound of swimmers, children playing in the afternoon, and at least one mother tutors her child in English by the pool. 

P1030208 The balcony also is shaded by several palm trees and Tawn has set about turning it into a cozy place for outdoor dining and relaxation. 

He’s added this concrete console that I think looks a bit overbearing, but that serves as a nice place to put plants, candles, and plates of food. 

There is a marble-topped cafe table with a pair of chairs, and we’ll eventually add a ceiling fan and light so that on breeze-less evenings we can still sit in comfort outdoors.

So far we haven’t had too much of a problem with mosquitos.  Hopefully it stays that way.

 

We live along a small soi that is actually surprisingly busy in one direction because it serves as a shortcut to bypass the Sukhumvit – Thong Lo intersection.  This can be a little frustrating but since the street is small, traffic moves pretty slowly and doesn’t make a lot of noise.  Unlike as Asoke Place, we don’t have a lot of traffic-related dust.  There, even though we were on the 25th floor, it only took a few hours of the windows being open to have a heavier, sooty type of dust coating things, probably due to the busses and trucks on the busy street below.

Soi 53 is very walkable, although I enjoy taking the motorcycle taxis up and down the soi for the feel of the wind in my hair.  Along the way there are many interesting condos, houses, spas and restaurants. 

P1030213 The most interesting of them is this private residence in a North Asian style that I have not decided on yet.  Is it more Chinese, Korean or Japanese in style? 

Located on the corner of Soi Sukhumvit 53 and Soi Thonglor 5, there is no signage indicating what it is or who lives there.  At first I thought it was a consulate or embassy, but if it were, it would have a sign.  It is a very nice looking house, though.

 

 

P1030226 Tuesday evening I went to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club for a speech and question-and-answer session by Abhisit Vejjajiva, the head of the Democratic Party of Thailand. 

The oldest of Thailand’s political parties (61 years), the Democrats are the main rivals against the PPP (People Power Party), which is basically the now-disbanded Thai Rak Thai party that was run by deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Khun Abhisit is only 43 years old, UK born and mostly educated there, and represents a new generation of Thai politicians, a generation that claims to be a break from the corrupt politics of the past. 

P1030225 It was very interesting listening to him: unlike most politicians I’ve heard (from any country) he is very articulate, has a specific plan of action for his party, and when asked even very pointed questions, he actually answers directly.

Whether or not he’ll have the opportunity to become the next Prime Minister is an open question.  Various polls show the PPP poised to take a majority in the new legislature and thus able to form their own government.

But Thai politics are nothing if not full of surprises.  So we’ll just have to wait and see how things turn out.  There is more that I’ll write about the upcoming election (this Sunday, December 23) that will mark the Kingdom’s return to democracy, over the next few days.

Finally, here’s a shot taken just after sunset from the lobby of the FCCT, looking east along Phloenchit/Sukhumvit towards the Central Chidlom department store.  This was a time exposure taken for three seconds.  The sun had actually already set but over three seconds, there was enough light to make it look as bright as it does in this picture.

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