The Democrat Party has its own obstacles to overcome as it attempts to build up its political popularity so as to be ready for the next election.
The Democrats’ shadow cabinet, seen here at a meeting chaired by Abhisit Vejjajiva, right, must make the public more aware of its role.
Shortly after being roundly unseated by the Pheu Thai Party in the polls last year, Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva set up a shadow cabinet to scrutinise the work of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her coalition government.
The shadow cabinet includes Mr Abhisit, who monitors the premier and the Defence Ministry. Others include Suthep Thaugsuban, in charge of the Interior Ministry, Juti Krairiksh as the shadow finance minister, Withoon Nambutr as shadow transport minister and Ong-art Klampaiboon as shadow foreign minister. Thaworn Senneam monitors the Justice Ministry, Apirak Kosayodhin tracks the Commerce Ministry, Kanok Wongtrangan focuses on the Education Ministry and Chinnaworn Boonyakiat is responsible for the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.
A meeting is held every Wednesday at the party's headquarters to monitor the work of the government and issue measures to counter what comes out of the cabinet meeting at Government House on Tuesdays.
The idea of forming a shadow cabinet in Thai politics was the brainchild of Oxford-educated Mr Abhisit. The first shadow cabinet was set up after the party lost the election in 2007 to the People Power Party led by Samak Sundaravej. But the performance of that shadow cabinet failed to attract the public limelight, being instead completely overshadowed by the political conflicts of the day as the People's Alliance for Democracy staged a campaign to oust the PPP-led government.
Samak was eventually stripped of power following the Constitution Court's ruling over his hosting a TV programme, and was succeeded by Somchai Wongsawat. The disbanding of the PPP for election fraud ended Mr Somchai's tenure and paved the way for the Democrats to form a government in 2008.
The new line-up of Mr Abhisit's shadow cabinet began its work last year but so far has not made any impression.
One of the problems is that the party has been unable to lure outstanding outsiders to join the shadow cabinet to boost its credibility. So the Democrats have to rely on their own members, a party source said.
However, party members who are part of the shadow cabinet will not necessarily be guaranteed an automatic cabinet post if the party returns to administrative power in the future, the source added.
Another problem the opposition party has is how to separate its role as the opposition party from that of a shadow cabinet. "The role of the shadow cabinet now is the same as that of the opposition party in parliament," a young blood Democrat MP said. "The shadow cabinet should have more to offer the public than criticising and opposing government measures," the MP added.
This problem could be why the shadow cabinet has received a tepid response from the public; many people do not even realise there is a shadow cabinet.
The Democrats should correct this impression by giving the shadow cabinet a more active role. Thus far it has only heaped criticism on the government, without making clear what it would do if it were in the government's place. A more active role would send a message to voters that the party provides an alternative and is ready to take over the reins of administration from Pheu Thai should the ruling party be unable to run the country for whatever reason.
The opposition party also must break its jinx with voters upcountry if it wants to win the next election. The Democrat Party had more than 10 million supporters in the past two elections but they were concentrated in urban areas. Despite having no strong middle-class base, Pheu Thai's rural supporters have managed to carry the party to electoral victory. "The Pheu Thai Party under the leadership of Pol Col Thaksin Shinawatra is always a step ahead of us in every move," said a Democrat MP and financial supporter. He cited the example of data collection to formulate a political platform. "When we went to rural areas to gather information to form a policy, we relied on the information from government agencies. But Pheu Thai went knocking directly on voters' doors," he added.
The Democrat Party as an institution is commendable but it has made the party clumsy compared with Pheu Thai. No one at the party has sole authority due to rules and regulations which hamper its leadership. The party leader and secretary-general cannot command their members to go left or right at will like Thaksin has done with Pheu Thai and its predecessors.
When the Democrats were in government before the election last year, sometimes Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep had to hold closed-door meetings for up to 10 hours to seek consensus from all factions on certain issues. Comparatively, Thaksin has been able to call the shots himself and the rest have to follow his orders.
All this constitutes homework for Mr Abhisit to sort out. His image as a clean and outstanding party leader with a chance to return as prime minister is unquestionable. But that might not be enough for him to lead the Democrats in competing with Pheu Thai. The party should boost the role of its shadow cabinet among the public and restructure the party to give its leadership more authority and power if it hopes to defeat Pheu Thai.
As yet there is little likelihood of the Pheu Thai-led coalition government not completing its four-year tenure. So the Democrats still have three years to turn their party into an impressive choice for voters in the next election.