EDITORIAL
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej asked the country to wait for several days to hear his decisions, and then he let the whole nation down yet again.
His Sunday morning TV speech actually answered no urgent questions. He said that he would reshuffle the cabinet "soon", whatever that means. Then he actually added to the confusion by noting that trustworthy technocrats do not want to board his sinking ship. Despite that, pretty soon there will be a beautiful cabinet.
Is there some reason to believe this? The ugly duckling could turn into a swan, of course, but Mr Samak's version of the story gives no cause for optimism. He said he wants the courts to decide the cases against current ministers first, but those could take months or even years.
And if that isn't disappointing enough, the nation's political leader announced that the number one priority for the next parliamentary session in August will be to amend the constitution.
As the popular song put it, when will they ever learn? The priorities of Mr Samak and his cloistered political allies are far away from those of all other citizens. It is hard to believe that the country will agree that saving the political necks of political parties is the most urgent problem for parliament.
Thailand to Mr Samak: Fuel prices are out of control, inflation is doubling many food prices, tripling the cost of rice. There is an economic crisis which the cabinet team has botched. That team has to be replaced, and the public must be assured that the problem is in competent hands at last.
One way or another, the government has to reset its priorities, restate its policies and reinvigorate its politicians and grassroots supporters. Mr Samak and ministers are clearly disengaged from the rest of the country. The government and the country are currently far apart in their views, and it is completely the duty of the prime minister and cabinet to get back into the real world.
The prime concerns of the government are to pass the budget for next year in order to harvest the mega-projects, and to amend the constitution. The prime concerns of 63 million Thais _ those who support the government and those who oppose it _ are to alleviate the pain that high fuel prices and inflation have brought to every home in the land.
Mr Samak and the other political leaders are almost panicking because their parties might be dissolved by the courts, thus hurting their chances of re-election. Mr and Mrs Average Citizen are highly concerned that they soon may not be able to eat healthily or send their children to school, thus harming their real chances of survival.
It is difficult to believe that less than seven months after the election, the country is so demoralised and its government is so aloof and disconnected. Clearly, the country is at a crossroads. The cabinet has lost several members, morale is low and Mr Samak must act.
Bluntly, his two choices are to lead or to get out of the way. He has an opportunity to form a strong new cabinet, if he does it quickly. The new government must include outsiders known by the public to be competent and capable of coming up with policies to deal with the economic shocks.
Otherwise, he can turn over the post of prime minister to a younger, clearer-thinking person who is not weighed down with worries of his or her own corruption and libel suits pending in a court system which clearly is not in awe of big shots.
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