DEMOCRAT POLICIES

DEMOCRAT POLICIES
Trade chairman backs 99-day plan
'Measures would aid recovery if implemented'

Published on December 18, 2007

The Board of Trade agreed with the Democrat Party's economic policies in general, and believed they would help revive the economy in the short term, chairman Pramon Sutivong said yesterday.

Pramon made this statement after two hours of talks with the Democrats about the party's People's Agenda policies.

He said if the Democrats actually did what they promised in their "Urgent Operation Plan Doable in 99 Days" campaign, the economy should be revived in the short term.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said they had also discussed plans to restructure the economy in the long run, as well as currency rates, retailing and relations between the government and private sector.

Before meeting with the Board of Trade, Abhisit held a press conference to answer questions from the media. The event, at the Siam Society, was titled "Abhisit: The Solution to the Nation's Crises". It followed a recently launched campaign promoting the young Democrat as an honest leader and the answer to the country's crises.

Abhisit was forthright. He said the election was being held to select a leader and it was high time people saw the real side of those contesting it and heard about their visions, alluding to the People Power Party's refusal to enter into a debate before the poll.

The Democrat leader vowed yesterday to eradicate corruption without making any compromises, saying he would welcome any scrutiny and be responsible for any damage incurred by the country if he became the next prime minister.

There would be no negotiations for personal interests or cronies within coalition parties, he warned, conceding that any coalition government could be ruined by corruption.

"I am a professional, 43-year-old politician. I won't sacrifice my political life in exchange for being in [the prime minister's] position for a mere six months or a year."

He said he would solve Thailand's crises by leading a democratic government, and would seek to boost confidence in the economy and restore peace in the South.

He reiterated that he would be a "real" and responsible prime minister - not someone's nominee or substitute.

In response to reports that an anti-Thaksin group planned to rally if the new government faced interference, Abhisit said all Thais had the right to organise political movements as long as they were lawful.

Abhisit repeated that Thaksin Shinawatra should return and face the justice system, saying he would be fair to the former PM and would not allow interference by any outside parties.

When asked to speculate about the party winning MP seats, Abhisit said he was confident the Democrats would get more seats than they did in 2005. However, he would not say if it would win the most seats.

He said this was an example of his plan to keep things transparent if he became PM.

However, when asked about his party's economic team, Abhisit declined to reveal names, saying he would lead the economic team and would be the one making decisions if he led the government.

He said he was confident about the party's platform and that it had competent people working as advisers, though they preferred to remain unknown at present.

Yossawadee Hongthong,

Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation