The defeat of the People's Party, formerly the Move Forward Party (MFP), in the Ratcha-buri Provincial Organisation Administration election and the shooting down of the bill on decentralised transport proposed by the opposition leader almost in the same week are definitely not a coincidence.
The Sept 1 election saw incumbent Ratchaburi PAO chairman Wiwat Nitikanchana successfully defend his position against a People's Party challenger. While branding himself as an independent candidate, Mr Wiwat is known to be on good terms with the Bhumjaithai Party -- one of the members of a coalition government that refrained from running in the poll; otherwise, their votes would have been split.
Despite the loss, the opposition party's performance, with a substantial increase in votes, is still impressive, given the limited campaigning time. Not to mention how tough the race was, with a nearly 70% vote turnout, which is quite a rare occasion for a local poll.
The People's Party -- the de facto 2023 election winner, as the MFP -- is struggling against the coalition parties led by Pheu Thai, which appears to have either adopted a policy of blocking votes against bills or simply dragging their feet.
By employing such tactics, the coalition bloc has failed in its primary duty as legislators.
At a glance, it looks like the old power elements have made progress and regained their momentum in the political arena. New PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra has formed her first cabinet, which has seen dynastic politics take deeper root, with quite a few political families fielding their nominees for the cabinet.
It's also the same power structure at the Senate, with a majority of winning candidates with links to ban yai parties dominating the prestigious Upper House, which has been criticised for observing a certain voting pattern.
But what appears to be the success of ban yai politics may not really ensure public benefits.
Under such a power structure, the questionable 2025 budget, which was hotly debated as of press time yesterday, is likely to sail through parliament despite concerns over a heavily imbalanced budget and huge debts and prospective economic problems ahead. With a partisan parliament but without an effective system of checks and balances, it is not a big surprise that the budget proposed by the coalition, especially on soft power projects or the relocation of a fund to support the digital wallet scheme, has been approved.
Apart from all the political shenanigans, several noteworthy laws, like the bill on a decentralised transport system that would enable local agencies to develop cheap and efficient transport systems in their respective areas, have been dropped as many of those in parliament tend to place political gain before public welfare. It is such a pity that our lawmakers did not only give this good draft law a chance for debate and deliberation.
Yet, as momentum builds, major coalition parties may feel they do not have to all fall in line. It's clear they forget all the lessons related to how the contentious ban yai politics caused political setbacks over the decades, with too many military interventions. It's a vicious cycle.
These politicians may be complacent with such tactics that allow them to contain the progressive forces, like the People's Party, for the time being. They underestimate people's aspirations for change and new politics. Unless they learn the lesson, they will soon find out that such complacency can be costly.