Sacking Sukhumbhand is no help to the Democrats

Sacking Sukhumbhand is no help to the Democrats

The "family feud" between Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra and his supporters on one side and the Democrat Party led by Abhisit Vejjajiva on the other is nothing new for the oldest political congress in Thailand. Two big questions are being raised over this latest episode, though. The first is whether it will lead to the embattled governor and his followers breaking away from the party, and the second is whether there will be leadership change.

The worst internal conflict to hit the Democrats came in 1988 and led to a mass defection of some 40 MPs by the so-called "January 10" group led by Chalermphan Srivikorn, Veerakarn Musikapong and the Wada group.

As far as the Democrat Party is concerned, Governor Sukhumbhand, or Khunchai Moo as he is called by the media, is no longer welcome in its ranks. Party secretary-general Juti Krairiksh told a press conference on Wednesday the party is no longer responsible for the governor's decisions and actions. This was later confirmed by Mr Abhisit who, however, stopped short of saying whether the governor, who is also a party deputy leader, had been kicked out altogether.

At the time, MR Sukhumbhand was in Portugal signing a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two cities of Bangkok and Lisbon. One of his deputy governors, Pussadee Tamthai, said the governor is still with the party and will carry on with his duties. She added the city administration is ready to cooperate with all investigations into allegations made against the administrators.

As a matter of fact, the party has wanted to expel him for some time, but couldn't do it legally because of the military junta's order to ban all political activities, preventing the Democrat hierarchy from calling a meeting to discuss the governor's fate. A request from the party to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to ease the restriction on political gatherings was shot down.

For the party to disown the governor now will not help much in undoing the damage suffered from the scandals surrounding MR Sukhumbhand's administration. These include the dummy CCTV cameras installed around the city; the pianos and piano classes for city-run schools; the 39-million baht light show at Larn Khon Muang in front of City Hall which is running from New Year to the end of this month; the renewal of BTS's contract to operate the skytrain; and Bangkok's riverside promenade. And that's not to mention the governor's infamous remark to Bangkok residents who are not happy with the city's flood management to go and live in the mountains.

For me, the Democrat Party's decision to put MR Sukhumbhand up for re-election in the last Bangkok governor poll was a big mistake given his lacklustre performance and armchair style of management during his first term in office.

Comments from netizens regarding this latest spat are mostly negative or critical of the party. One person said he was disappointed by the party's decision to field MR Sukhumbhand for re-election and criticised Mr Abhisit for not having the guts to put up somebody else.

Thai Post columnist Plew See-ngern said the feud reflected the leadership's lack of political maturity despite the party's long history. Others said they lost faith in the party a long time ago and predicted it would lose again in the next election.

Speculation is rife about a changing of the guard at the leadership level, with someone like former prime minister Chuan Leekpai or other former party heavyweights like Supachai Panitchpakdi and Surin Pitsuwan taking over from Mr Abhisit. But that is speculative at this stage. What isn't speculative is the Democrats cannot remain complacent. They must do something to shore up their image and restore the confidence of supporters, especially in Bangkok.

It should be noted many people who voted for Democrat candidates in recent national or governor elections did so not because they support or like the party, but because they dislike the Pheu Thai Party, or there were no better alternatives.

The NCPO's ban on public gatherings of more than five people may pose a problem. But just sitting around and waiting for the next general election to come about without trying to be proactive is a complete waste of time and will backfire.

What is apparent is the Democrats need a big makeover, from the top down, in policies, strategies and leadership to retain their old voters and attract new ones.


Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Bangkok Post.

Veera Prateepchaikul

Former Editor

Former Bangkok Post Editor, political commentator and a regular columnist at Post Publishing.

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