Life without populism

Life without populism

The government plans to increase the flag drop by 5 baht and increase the fare when stuck in a traffic jam for the important voter-bloc of taxi drivers, raising the question of just what is populism. (Bangkok Post file photo)
The government plans to increase the flag drop by 5 baht and increase the fare when stuck in a traffic jam for the important voter-bloc of taxi drivers, raising the question of just what is populism. (Bangkok Post file photo)

Once upon a time in a land very, very far away with a "government by the people, for the people" there was a plan to fix recalcitrant taxi drivers and make them pick up passengers, politely, and then to reward the drivers with a fare increase. And that plan was carried out in the faraway country, and passengers were happy to reward deserving, hard-working, uncomplaining taxi drivers.

Meanwhile, in a different-ness country, taxi drivers learned they will get a flag-drop reward of 5 baht and a higher fare when sitting in a traffic jam -- while being surly to the selected passengers fortunate enough to be allowed into the cab. The driver only will have to wait a bit, until just before the different country's election, to get their income raised by the man counting on the election to keep him in power.

In the second-ness country, the government issued orders that all taxi passengers had the right to grit their teeth and take whatever drivers give them. This was in no way, at no time a populist measure to try to win votes and huzzahs and enthusiastic chaiyo. Because in the second country, populism is banned.

Which is to say that in the second country, Thai-ness, the general prime minister continued his relentless anti-populist crackdown by planning a new, 40-baht flag drop for taxi drivers.

He has a new truck, loaded with 700 billion baht, ready to drive mostly to the provinces so they will encourage investment. This five-year budget mandate also will help to finance the national water management scheme brought in by Voldemort's sister, then swallowed, assimilated and regurgitated as a green-shirt water management scheme.

In order to make sure that even the self-sacrificing (if seldom self-aware) green shirt kratocracy isn't even tempted to bring in any populist programmes to try to win over the taxi drivers who supported Voldemort, there's a new law.

This 87-section monster bill was printed in the Royal Gazette on April 19 and thus is official. It's called the State Financial and Fiscal Discipline Act of 2561 [2018]. It's ever so serious, seems as long as the original Iliad in Greek, although not as easy to understand.

Populism bad, government 'investment' good

The point of it, however, is: No more populism. It bans populist election promises, populist laws, bills that put a strain on public debt, measures that create financial burdens or risks and anything -- such a lovely subsection, this -- anything that could create possible damage to state finances.

On the evening of April 19, the United States Geological Survey registered a "seismic event" registering 2.7 on the Richter magnitude scale, epicentre right on the surface of Bangkok. Within 12 hours, it was determined that it was actually the combined shock of simultaneous head-desking by people who were reading the bill online.

But there's good news as well as bad. The good news is that there is no enforcement agency, no specified punishment if a government not wearing green shirts brings in a bill to, say, stabilise rubber prices with government purchases, or maybe "help" Big Business by subsidising their 24 TV stations all at once.

The new law, like so many of the many recent actions by the junta, provides a bone of contention that elites can gnaw if a non-military government takes office.

The clear plan if that should happen is to launch the "political war of 1,000 cuts" by charging such a government with constitutional violation after legal law-breaking.

Just as the clear plan if Pheu Thai ever gets close to power, is to reach for the "foreigners running that party" card, meaning Voldemort and his fugitive sister.

If you can forget politics entirely, the military's military-style planning has been quite good, starting right from four years ago. The new anti-populism law has quite strong support in pro-military circles because it can be used against the red buffaloes.

What is unpredictable is this. If the military succeeds in retaining power after the election (whenever that might be), will the obvious opposition -- Pheu Thai and smaller parties -- have the guts to make Gen (Ret) Prayut and his elected government play by their own rules? The military will hate that.

Alan Dawson

Online Reporter / Sub-Editor

A Canadian by birth. Former Saigon's UPI bureau chief. Drafted into the American Armed Forces. He has survived eleven wars and innumerable coups. A walking encyclopedia of knowledge.

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