Political expediency

re: "Edging towards a moment of truth" (BP, Opinion, August 21, 2023)  

Dear editor,

Veera Prateepchaikul asserts "that flip-flopping or breaking promises is an integral part of the Thai political game" as if this were equally true of all parties. It is not. He then goes on to talk of "the new radicals represented by the Move Forward Party (MFP), who are bent on radical changes and structural reform, and the Old Guards, who are determined to maintain the status quo and are represented by many of the other parties." This is indeed the division that the senate and Pheu Thai have clarified for us.

Move Forward has, in contrast to tradition, consistently demonstrated that it does not flip-flop or betray those who vote for it. On the contrary, Move Forward, unlike the Old Guard, which includes the senate bent on holding the voters of no account, has acted with honour, integrity and principle throughout. More than one third of Thais already supported Move Forward on May 14. 

The Old Guard, as Veera dubs them, having been publicly exposing themselves these three months, it is likely that sufficiently more voters have now had their eyes opened that Move Forward already has solid majority support for every one of its modest, reasonable and long overdue proposals for reform of the bad old ways of the Old Guard propping up bad old traditions allegedly revered. At least, the Old Guard would have it believed such are revered. They conspicuously present zero evidence for their worst such allegations of reverence. The 38% vote for Move Forward on May 14 is, however, telling. Would that be 72% today? Or only the 60+% suggested by recent Nida polls? 

As for Thaksin Shinawatra and the long prophesied second coming, since it would incur only loathing from the people he has betrayed to grant him one, would anyone be so rash as to even consider giving Thaksin a pardon? What reason could there be for committing such an act? Why taint  your reputation by publicly enabling him after the Pheu Thai shenanigans this past month? I suspect that Thaksin's manicurist will call him to an urgent appointment. Still, I might, as always, be wrong, and Veera's bombshell might yet come to pass this Tuesday. That would indeed be a spectacle to set rumour speculating, and Move Forward soaring to new heights of respect in the nation. 

 Felix Qui 

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on August 24, 2023, under the title "Political expediency" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2634973/thaksin-redux