Protesters rally outside the offices of the Election Commission to demand a recount in Rayong. — KOSOL NAKACHOL

Five days after the country’s general election, we are still trying to understand what the results mean for the future. In fact, we are still waiting to find out what the results are in many areas since on voting irregularities have forced the Election Commission to call new elections.

All this is confusing enough for us here in Thailand. Think of what it must be like to have to explain the situation to people in other countries who know very little about this country and its political system.

Peter Janssen describes how he explained the election to his international readers.

That is a problem Peter Janssen, local bureau chief of the German Press Agency (dpa), faces every day. Fortunately, he is no stranger to Thailand, having lived here for the past 20 years. And with a Thai wife and two teenage children, he has insights into the country that few other foreign correspondents can match.

Last Monday, I talked to him about how he went about writing his post-election stories. I have summarised much of that conversation for you on this page. I have also included a story he wrote about the Thai election on Sunday afternoon, just as the overall results were starting to become clear.

Peter Janssen works for the English language service for the German Press Agency (dpa) so his audience is quite different from that of the correspondents who work for the German language service. In fact, he says his main clients are in this area of the world ranging from Taiwan to countries in the Middle East.

This, he says, means that his readers probably have a little better understanding of Thailand than those who live in Europe or the United States. He also expects they will be more interested in what happens here.

Peter likes to check his understanding of what he hears from the Thai media with his assistant, Somchai Taphaneeyapan.

Peter says he depends heavily on the local media for his information. This includes the Thai language media which he says was particularly useful in covering the election results – especially radio and television. He understands Thai very well, but he likes to confirm his understanding with his assistant, Somchai Taphaneeyapan. It also helps to have two bi-lingual children, he adds.

The story that follows is a news analysis Peter filed last Sunday. He said he had three main points he wanted to get across. The first was the uncertainty surrounding the election results. This election was unusual in that it seemed to raise as many questions as it answered.

Secondly, Peter said he wanted to help his readers understand who Mr Thaksin is, and what policies he is proposing. Finally, he wanted to give a short explanation of why the Democrats were ousted from power.

Peter planned his story with both his readers and his newspaper clients in mind. This meant getting the key information right at the top of his story. Readers, he said, tend to pay the most attention to the first few paragraphs. Newspapers have limited space available and organising a story this way makes it easy for editors to cut it to the required length.

Keep all this in mind when you read Peter’s story. What did he say remains uncertain about the Thai political situation? What did he say about Mr Thaksin? What did he say about the Democrat’s fall from power?

Who is Thaksin Shinawatra? Why did his party win? What does he want to do as prime minister? These are questions Peter Janssen answered for his international readers. — SOMCHAI POOMLARD Plenty of uncertainty in aftermath of Thailand's election

By Peter Janssen, dpa Bangkok (dpa) Thai Rak Thai, the political party of tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, 51, was handed a clear mandate to rule in Saturday’s general elections, but their triumph is unlikely to usher in an era of political and economic stability for Thailand. Thaksin’s party won nearly half of the 500 contested seats in the House of Representatives, clearing the way for him to become Thailand's 23rd prime minister and to push through the host of popular economic policies he has promised the people. The closest rivals of Thai Rak Thai (literally – Thai Love Thai), the 50-year-old Democrat Party under incumbent Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, came in a distant second, slating them for the opposition. "This is a strong message for the Democrats," said Chaiwat Khamchoo, dean of political science at Chulalongkorn University. Chuan’s coalition government stepped in to save the nation in November 1997, after Thailand entered its most serious financial crisis in decades. In 1998, despite or partly because of tight fiscal policies recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), from which Thailand borrowed 17.2 billion dollars, the economy contracted by 11 per cent. By 1999 a slight recovery was already under way with 4 per cent growth, which was matched again in 2000, driven primarily by a good export performance. But for the common man on the street and the average Thai businessman, there is little sign that the good times are back. "Chuan hasn’t improved the economy. I wanted to give Thaksin a chance to see what he can do," said Ngo Sae Tang, a Bangkok voter. Thai Rak Thai (TRT) campaigned on popular policies, such as a promise to provide each of Thailand's 70,000 villages with one million baht (23,000 dollars) in direct development funding and a three-year debt moratorium for farmers on 300 billion baht (6.9 billion dollars) in loans from the state-owned Bank of Agriculture and Cooperatives (BAAC). TRT has also backed the setting up of a state asset management company to take over some of the worst debts to Thailand’s ailing bank system, a move that would no doubt please the country’s business elite. Telecommunications tycoon Thaksin, who began the process of forming a coalition government with smaller Thai parties over the weekend, has insisted that TRT be handed control over economic ministries, such as finance and commerce, to implement his economic schemes. "A very challenging path lies ahead for Thaksin, because he has set such high expectations," said Chaiwat. "He needs to make sure that all these policies will be implemented in a short period of time." Economists have warned that although TRT’s rural policies may have a positive short-term impact on the economy, they have worrisome long-term implications for the country. "I wonder what will happen with the debt moratorium after the three years are up," cautioned Ammar Siamwalla, a senior advisor to the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). "Because by then farmers will be in the habit of not paying back their debts." There is a danger that the estimated 300 billion baht in farmers’ debts to the BAAC will need to be taken on by the government, adding to public debt which already stands at 54 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the wake of Thailand’s recession years. A similar scenario is likely for the asset management company and the 1.6-billion-dollar village funding scheme. Thaksin has promised to finance all these programmes by improving tax collection, but not raising taxes. "If he can’t make it from taxes then he will need to borrow money," warned Ammar. But Thaksin is under pressure to perform, and it is likely to be a short act. On December 26 the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) indicted the baht billionaire, whose fortune is estimated at 60 billion baht (1.4 billion dollars) for intentionally concealing his assets with the transfer of millions of dollars worth of company shares to his servants in 1997, when he was deputy premier. If the Constitutional Court upholds the NCCC’s verdict in coming months, which is likely, Thaksin will be barred from national politics for a five-year period. He would be forced to immediately resign, as would his entire cabinet, and a new government would be formed, although TRT could still lead it. His most likely choices are the New Aspiration Party (NAP) and the Chart Thai Party, which won about 50 seats each. The parties are led by former prime ministers Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and Banharn Sipa-archa, who ran the country between 1995 to 1997, leading up to Thailand's economic collapse in mid-1997.

Know these words and phrases mandate authority; power to do something, esp. as a result of winning an election usher in to bring about; to cause to begin incumbent a person who presently holds a position fiscal concerning the government budget contracted reduced in amount debt moratorium a temporary stopping of loan repayments tycoon a wealthy and influential business person upholds confirms

1. Suppose you are an editor at an English-language newspaper in Jakarta, Indonesia. You want to use this story, but you only have space for 12 paragraphs. How would you edit (cut) the story down to the appropriate length?
2. Suppose you are an editor at an English-language newspaper in Saudi Arabia. You can only use six paragraphs of the story? How would you edit it down to that length?
3. Suppose you work for the Bangkok Post. You, too, need to shorten Peter’s story, but you want to do so by cutting out the parts that are unnecessary for local readers, i.e., the background information that your readers are likely to know already. What parts of the story would you cut?

However, similar background will be very useful for your students when they read stories from other countries. You might want them to look at several stories from the international section and find the background information they contain.

Secondly, your students will take on an additional role this week in their follow-up activity. They will become editors as well as readers. This will help them better understand the structure of news writing and the use of background as well. Actually, the first two parts of the activity are very easy. To edit the stories down to size, all they have to do is to cut off the bottom paragraphs since the important information is at the top.

The third part is more sophisticated. Editing for a local audience means cutting paragraphs and, in many cases, cutting individual words or phrases as well. For example, local readers already know that Chuan Leekpai is the current prime minister so they can cut the word incumbent. Warning: In some cases, your students will probably have to do some re-writing as well.

Go back to the top

Exploring the Premier league The next games (Home teams listed first.) Arsenal vs Chelsea Aston Villa vs Liverpool Bradford vs Manchester United Everton vs Tottenham Ipswich vs Leicester Manchester City vs Leeds United Middlesbrough vs Derby Newcastle vs Coventry Southampton vs Charlton West Ham United vs Sunderland Quite naturally, the best performing teams in the Premier League are getting the most attention. This week, however, I want to focus on the bottom teams because as the weeks pass, each of them are coming under increasing danger of being one of the three teams relegated out of the Premier League down to the First Division one level below. Guess the games Game 1 The home team in this game faces almost certain relegation after only two years in the league. It has won only two games all year. This week it has the misfortune of hosting the best team in the league which, incidentally, is a nearby neighbour only about 25 kilometres to the southwest. Both teams are from the lower northern part of England. The city where the home team is located has a population of about 300,000 people. About 150 years ago it was known as the "wool capital of the world" because of the many mills located there. The textile industry now takes a back seat to other more modern industries, however. This city's team may soon lose it Premier League status. Game 2 Two endangered teams are playing each other this week. The home team is located on the coast of the North Sea about 150 kilometres from the Scottish border. It is the southernmost of the three teams located in that area. The second team is from central England and is located very near the Trent River. Game 3 This game will also be played in the far north, but the home team is in no danger of relegation. It is the visiting team that is in trouble. That team is from a city in central England. Its closest neighbours are Birmingham to the northwest and Leicester to the northeast. Game 4 The last team on our worry list comes from the same city as the Premier League’s best team. It is at home this week playing against a team from a nearby city to the northeast – the closest neighbour to the home team in game 1. Note: To do this activity, you will need a map. The best map for your purpose is available by clicking here.

Next week: Dealing with customer complains from Consumer Outlook