Stark choices await Jurin

Stark choices await Jurin

As the Democrat Party's share of the electoral dividends in the March 24 polls was unprecedentedly thin, its newly elected leader Jurin Laksanavisit has an uphill task in restoring the Democrats' lost popularity.

Labelling his leadership and the party as the "era of the Avengers", he promised he would maintain party ideology to uphold the parliamentary and democratic systems. He will soon have to prove he can walk the talk.

While restoring the party's popularity requires long-term strategies, Mr Jurin must not forget the party's immediate priority to deliver the promises it made during the election campaign.

The party's dismal showing in the election is being attributed to former leader Abhisit Vejjajiva's pledge to not support the junta and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, in prolonging their power.

That could have alienated supporters in the anti-Thaksin Shinawatra camp who backed the junta toppling the government of Thaksin's sister, Yingluck.

To many, the party has become increasingly irrelevant to the electorate.

In the last election, it suffered disastrous losses in its political strongholds in Bangkok, where it secured no seats, and the South, grabbing only 52 parliament seats -- the lowest total in recent decades.

Additionally, it received just 3.9 million votes in the last poll, down on the 7 million people who voted for the party in 2011.

Now, the party is at a crossroads. It has to choose whether to join the pro-military regime political alliance led by the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) or the opposite camp led by the Thaksin-linked Pheu Thai Party. Both are vying to form a coalition government.

In making such a decision, the Democrats will reach two crucial choices: Whether it should fulfil the promise Mr Abhisit made by opting out of the pro-junta camp or try to claw back support by joining it.

If Mr Jurin is serious about upholding party ideology, he must convince party members to choose the former option at its meeting next week.

This is not just to prove the party upholds its principles, but also show that they respect the votes of 3.9 million people.

A number of key promises the party made during the campaign cannot be fulfilled if the Democrats are part of a PPRP-led government.

These include amendments to the regime-sponsored constitution and the promise to not support Gen Prayut become premier again.

These can only be achieved if the party either forms a so-called "independent opposition" faction in parliament or joins the Pheu Thai-led camp.

If Mr Jurin wants to win back support for the party, that should be part of his long-term strategy.

If his party decides to join the pro-junta camp just to please this bloc of voters, it could be political suicide by re-emphasising the public's perception of the Democrats as opportunists who can compromise with the military when benefits beckon.

Mr Abhisit only has himself to blame for the Democrats' failure at the polls. He has capitalised on anti-Thaksin sentiment over past years by making it the stance of his party.

Mr Jurin does not have to revisit that path but he should set a clear direction and form more unified political ideologies for the party.

More importantly, he has to prove that the Democrats can keep their promises.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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