Over 5,000 supporters of the governing Democrat Party, behind in opinion polls ahead of the July 3 election came together Thursday at the rally site where just a year ago the military had finally crushed anti-government protests. The government is facing a tough battle to overcome a lead in opinion polls by the opposition Pheu Thai Party, led by Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

In 2010 the Rajaprasong commercial site was the location for weeks of anti-government protests led by the United Democratic Front against Dictatorship (UDD), known as Red Shirts. They had called for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign. Red Shirts, supporters of Thaksin, had turned down Abhisit’s offers in early May 2010 before the military moved in on the protest sites on May 19. The anti-government protests had left over 90 people dead, with hundreds of civilians and military injured in clashes.

Rally

This week red shirt leaders attacked the Democrat Party’s staging a rally at the former protest site. But Democrat Party member and Finance Minister, Korn Chitikavanij, said the gathering was symbolic. He said, "We don't want Rajaprasong to necessarily be remembered just as an intersection where Red Shirts held Bangkok and effectively the rest of the country hostage for two months. We want to use this as a symbolic place in order to send an important signal to all of Thailand that the events of last year must not be repeated. And tonight Khun Abhisit will tell Thailand what it is that he would do in order to ensure that is the case."

In his address Abhisit told voters to be wary of being held "hostage" by Thaksin should the Pheu Thai Party be elected. Thaksin, hoping for an amnesty from a jail term for corruption, hopes to return to Thailand if the Pheu Thai wins the election. The Pheu Thai Party is also keen to win voter support in the capital as seen from this recent rally.

In the lead

Yongyuth Wichaidit, the party’s administrative leader, is confident Pheu Thai can secure the bulk of the 500 seats in the parliament. He says the party is progressing very well, adding "both the constituency and party need around 248 seats. If we have got an absolute majority in the parliament, this problem will not be serious. But if we don’t win an absolute majority, less than 250, then we should be bargaining with middle-sized or small parties."

The political parties have turned to populist policies such as increasing wages and pensions, providing financial support for rice farmers, and tablet computers for school children, creating village funds programs, as well as a debt moratorium for low income workers to capture voter support. Economists have warned the programs may be more than Thailand can afford.

Overboard

A former massage parlour owner turned politician and now head of the small Rak Thailand (Love Thailand) Party, Chuwit Kamolvisit, says such populist policies can undermine Thai society. He criticizes the populism and thinks it is dangerous to place image before the economy. He refers to populism as an addiction.

While the Pheu Thai is ahead of the Democrat Party in opinion polls, they also show that one third of eligible voters remain undecided and are now the focus of attention in the final days before the July 3 vote.

Author: Ron Corben
Editor: Sarah Berning