Get the govt you deserve

General News - Saturday December 22, 2007

COMMENTARY

Get the govt you deserve

THIRASANT MANN

The NLA, having declared it would carry on considering legislation till yesterday like there was no tomorrow, has been hellbent on clearing its backlog of 30 bills.

That doesn't mean all the bills it clears automatically become law. The bills must still be endorsed by the palace, and therein lies the rub. Seems like the first order of business for the incoming elected government will be to recall those bills for another, serious look. So there's hope yet for those who've been holding hands in a human chain around parliament, trying in vain to prevent lawmakers from legislating away our rights and freedoms under the military-authorised if not authored outright Constitution (this, too, hopefully might be up for amending).

Meantime, 'tis the season for giving, so go out and give your vote to the Santa of your choice, preferably one without an escape clause from promises to fulfil, even if it takes 99 days, and even though we know that politicians' promises very often amount to little more than hot air - remember that pledge about solving Bangkok's traffic gridlock within six months? It's been more than six years now and we're still sitting pretty in the jam eating bread and honey, and the politician who made that promise is now a persona non grata, hurrah!

The campaigning has been quite colourful, of course. Money has changed hands with such practised sleight leaving the election watchdogs marvelling at the lack of proof thereof before their very eyes.

One snippet shown on TV was of three candidates sitting together in one corner of the stage, all bedecked with marigold garlands and in shiny yellow shirts, sheepishly looking anywhere but at the troupe of skimpily clad girls centrestage, who were doing their sexiest utmost to woo voters. Wow.

And at another venue, Candidate No. 10 of Chart Thai party had this to tell us: "Elder and younger citizens, all these years we've been paddling in a tub of dish water. Look where our same old politicians have landed us. We've been stuck in a groove, going nowhere politically. I am a businessman, I don't like politics. But what can I do? I cannot sit around doing nothing when politics is ruining the economy. That is why I have entered politics. To make sure things get done.

"On the campaign trail one voter asked, if they elected me, would the sewage drains get dredged? Let me clarify, the job of an MP is not to clean drains, we've got more important tasks.

"Anyhow, what we need are fresh faces, young blood. Excuse me, there are some new faces running for office but they are the scions of the same old-face politicians. Let's start completely fresh... vote for me."

Very fresh, indeed. One wonders what his party leader, Banharn, must have thought; he's been around for decades and knows all there is about nam nao, having been unceremoniously dunked in it when a footbridge over a canal he was crossing snapped.

But like a maiden wooed, he's been coy and demure about which party he will tie the knot with to form a ruling coalition.

The Democrats have openly said Chart Thai would be their first choice if they win, since they'd been through thick and thin together on the opposition benches in parliament. But Banharn is keeping his options open, PPP-wise, because clearly he does not want to be in the opposition again. But there is also the wee chance that he might be spurned like a dud spud - if Chart Thai finds itself winning only in Suphan Buri.

An unattributed quote on the internet states: "A candidate is a person who gets money from the rich and votes from the poor to protect them from each other." So, what can we expect from Matchima when its candidates are up in arms against the rich party leader whom they claim has not been financing them enough to mount a proper campaign? The party leader himself has been on and off the verge of resigning. He simply cannot make up his mind, despite the court's prompting. Wouldn't surprise anyone if he finally does quit after the polls, writing off his losses as a costly lesson in Politics for Dummies.

And Puea Pandin, even before getting a chance to do anything for the country, has been dealt a blow, as one of its key candidates has withdrawn from the race due to allegations of past corruption.

In any case, we've all been told to do our bit for democracy tomorrow. Who knows, your vote might just be the one that tips the scales to secure a government democratic enough to prevent our homeland from gradually going the way of military-ruled Burma?

Thirasant Mann is a Bangkok Post sub-editor.

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