Thaksin's followers need a new course

In 2001, Thaksin Shinawatra irrevocably changed the face of Thai politics by using so-called populist policies to win votes in 19 provinces in the Northeast. So effective were the policies that they landed him and his Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) not only most parliamentary seats, but also a firm place in the hearts of Isan people. The popularity and influence won through those policies is so deep-rooted that almost 10 years on, no politician or party can hope to challenge his dominance in the region.

Such policies are the main reason why TRT was returned to power in a landslide election victory in early 2005, enabling it to control Parliament outright and form the first-ever single-party government, ending decades of pluralism which had prevailed since the rule of country was changed in 1932.

The opposition parties, meanwhile, were left struggling to perform their check-and-balance duty and could barely garner enough votes to launch even one censure debate against the incumbent government.

But absolute power eventually corrupts. Intoxicated by his own success, Thaksin began to exploit his boundless powers.

He amended laws at his whim and intervened in the work of independent parties and government agencies as he saw fit, to the benefit of himself and his cronies. A victim of his own success, he was toppled by non-democratic means in 2006. Cases against him have since emerged, his assets have been seized and he was convicted and sentenced, causing him to flee abroad.

Although his loyal followers have since tried to perpetuate his reign by forming new parties and demonstrating in his behalf, unlike in the past there is no guarantee he will ultimately succeed. This is mainly because Puea Thai Party, the third incarnation of TRT and the party that supports him today, has done so little to impress. So far, its sole mission has been to fight for Thaksin's return so he can be absolved of all guilt. No wonder the party can't find a proper leader.

In stark contrast, the Bhumjaithai (BJT) Party, a spinoff from TRT's second incarnation just last year, seems to be gaining ground. In fact, it is threatening to overtake Puea Thai, which could be regarded as its parent.

BJT, which consists mainly of politicians from what was once Thaksin's vote base _ the Northeast _ is working to implement a new set of populist policies, and as it turns out, the new policies seem to be more far-reaching, palpable and penetrating than what Thaksin sowed.

The seminar or ''reality show'' staged by BJT in Tambon Ban Nongphai-Nadee in Sakhon Nakhon province early this month was also more grand, with more politicians and villagers taking part, than a similar show Thaksin managed in Roi Et province in 2006.

Directed by Newin Chidchob, the party's banned leader, the show also appeared much more ''real''. The party's MPs went to live, eat, plough rice fields and sleep with the villagers. It marks the first time that key ministers mixed so intimately with villagers in order to learn about their needs and their local wisdom.

After three days and two nights, populist policies based on the what the MPs learned first-hand from the villagers were drafted.

For starters, BJT's ''one village, one sports ground'' project and the ''one sanitarium, one ambulance and one medical team'' project aim to promote good health in an integrated manner.

The ''one TAO (Tambon Administration Organisation), one rice bank and one rice mill'' project is a solution to the problem where middle men push down the prices of the rice they buy from farmers.

The ''dust-free road'' project will be expanded to cover all provinces.

Apart from these schemes, there are the ''one village, one irrigation system'' project and the ''carbon-credit'' project aimed at reducing pollution while making money from the efforts.

All these projects are collectively called Nongphai-Nadee Folk Wisdom after the locations where the policies originated.

BJT plans to hold a similar seminar in either Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai.

Instead of coming up with its own policies, Puea Thai appealed to the Election Commission, saying that BJT had broken the law. It also claimed BJT's leader violated the law by giving 2,000 baht to an elderly citizen during the seminar, a charge to which Chavarat Charnvirakul responded that he had just made a donation.

By the looks of it, BJT is set to overtake Puea Thai, whose MPs are now busy pushing for constitutional amendments and dare not elect a new leader, as if to hint that nobody other than Thaksin could head the party. This strategy is wrong, and it would be even more wrong to wait for a wounded Thaksin to return and take the leadership. Puea Thai should make a decision to stake a new course, the sooner the better.