December 8, 2024: Never underestimate the power of political mockery. If applied properly, it can be deadly, a lot more effective than straightforward criticism.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has attracted both playful and serious contempt in no small measure. She is Thailand’s post-election Kamala Harris. She is threatening to overtake her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra in term of regular mockery, because a major difference is that Paetongtarn is facing it left and right, literally and ideologically.
We don’t see left-leaning newscasters/commentators speaking highly of right-wing opinion leaders that often, but when it comes to Paetongtarn, even Seri Wongmontha’s “Teasers can get tired, too” comment has spearheaded the former's criticism of the prime minister.
That she is Thaksin Shinawatra’s daughter subjected her to a serious scrutiny, but that subject can get into a boring loop easily. Mocking how she adjusted her hair in public, how she confounded foreign dignitaries or interviewers, or how she cited her love life when talking about a national affair, meanwhile, can have a fountain of content materials.
Political mockeries precede several high-profile downfalls. This fact can’t be truer in the era of social media where contemptuous content, smart or else, can go viral effortlessly, stay forever and remain within just one click away on the internet.
So, Paetongtarn is facing two big battlefronts. On one side looms the likes of the usual-suspect “serial petitioners”, the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Constitutional Court. Coming at her on the other side are memes and not-so-serious YouTube clips.
And all the while we are seeing a glimmer of one more jaw-dropping political trend. Yellow and Orange critics are joining hands to mock her. The development is taking place in a very shy and limited manner, but, remember, this is Thailand, where shy can become outrageous in an instant.
VAT hike would make govt crumble like house of cards
December 7, 2024: Stay calm. While Thailand is no stranger to political ironies, a VAT increase and “digital wallet” going hand in hand would be too much for anyone to handle.
In other words, there is no way the VAT will go up. If the Paetongtarn administration does not want to become a sandcastle before an incoming sea storm, that is.
She has insisted the VAT would never be raised, but Thais don't need such a guarantee. A lot of people have demonised the "digital wallet", but its outstanding merit is that it helps make sure the current VAT rate will remain.
A major reason for low VAT rates is they will stimulate economic growth. They help increase consumption, encourage spending, promote job creation and hence boost the economy. For example, low VAT rates on construction services can tempt people to renovate or improve their homes, a boon to economy in the construction sector.
In addition, affordable VAT very significantly helps small businesses or starters.
In short, all _ big, small businesses and consumers _ will benefit. And so will governments especially ones claiming that fixing the economy and helping the poor or the vulnerable are their agendas.
There is only one reason they increase the VAT: the government is broke.
And the Paetongtarn government cannot be perceived to be desperate for money.
Let's hear from third US presidential runner Jill Stein
December 6, 2024: One highly-significant voice was drowned out amid the Trump-Harris tumult over the past few months.
Green Party’s Jill Stein received more than 780,000 votes in the November American presidential election, some 26,000 more votes than Robert Kennedy (independent). It was less than one per cent of the turnout and a lot of ordinary people did not hear her name on the mainstream media on the election day.
She got this to say on the US foreign policy, in an interview marking the continued fight of the “truth movement” for reinvestigation of the 2001 9/11 incident:
“To me, this (seeking the whole truth about 9/11) is about the mystery of US foreign policy and all the intrigue that surrounds it. (Also) the story is not simple. The story is not over. The story is just full of deception. The general public are told to believe that we are a force for good, that we are an exemplary model of democracy and all that, and yet the truth is we have committed regime-change operations some 70-80 times since the World War II and we have sent our troops into other countries 250 times according to congressional research service just in like the last 30 years.
“… Our foreign policy is not to be taken at face value by any means. I’m running for president. If I were president, on Day One we would begin congressional hearings on basically US foreign policy (and all the forces) that determine our foreign policy.”
Trump won't do it. Harris would not.
Watch Facebook
December 5, 2024: Everyone knows about Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Now, imagine Mark Zuckerberg becomes their full-blown ally, out of business necessity or not.
Developments are suggesting a potential thawing of Trump-Zuckerberg previously-hostile relationship. The Meta CEO has sent out all sorts of signals suggesting he wants to actively help shape the technology policy in the incoming Trump administration. He has met Trump recently at Mar-a-Largo. His company even admitted it might have gone too far against harmless content in the past, indirectly referring to harsh action against the president-elect.
To a lot of people, the biggest telltale sign of Zuckerberg’s U-turn was when he described Trump's response to an assassination attempt as "badass”.
“Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said in July.
The US Democrats who used to see Facebook’s severe measures against Trump as a great political safeguard must be watching the current development nervously. The conventional media are a powerful political tool, but they can pale beside the social media.
Trump can’t have both X and Facebook, can he?
When "treason" is exploited in democracy
December 4, 2024: South Korea’s president has virtually accused the main opposition party of treason, and vice versa. Outgoing US President Joe Biden has virtually accused president-elect Donald Trump of treason, and vice versa. The list of examples goes on and on.
“Treason” and “Democracy” should have existed in parallel universes. They have no business being together. Yet truth is that they co-exist perfectly in this world. Either you are democratic or authoritarian, “treason” always comes in handy, being an effective weapon to strike down a political enemy.
It’s puzzling and ironic. South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol linked the opposition party to North Korea, meaning it’s a threat to his country’s democracy which he apparently tried to defend. Biden also linked Trump to Russia and accused the latter of doing several bad things against democracy. Therefore, Trump was a threat to democracy which Biden tried to defend.
Now, the very South Korean opposition party accused by the country’s president of treason is accusing him of the same crime, and seeking impeachment in the process. As for Trump, it has never been a secret what he thinks. The incoming world leader has always charged that Biden and Co are in fact an anti-democratic force in disguise who have been hiding behind democracy. It’s treason hands down, Trump said.
Who are right and who are wrong? Only one thing is clear: When “treason” is activated in a democracy, the latter can be badly tainted, if not destroyed completely.
South Korea is considered a model student when democracy is concerned. America (whose president pardoned his son just days ago) preaches democracy. Imagine what are going on in countries with smaller profiles.
Paetongtarn's "maturity" under spotlight
December 3, 2024: It’s one thing for ordinary citizens to jump into social media and pick a fight with critics, but it’s another for a prime minister to do so.
It’s controversial when a prime minister needs to consult a computer tablet for a piece of information or national stance that he or she should know by heart, but it’s way a lot more controversial if that device is used to monitor or respond to criticism.
It’s not what Paetongtarn Shinawatra says. It’s how she says it.
And how often she is saying it.
A public figure faces criticism all the time, and some of it could be wrong. But in an era where a million critics have a million tools to do their work at the same time, a leader has to let it go, otherwise there will be no time left for public service.
Flooding in the deep South is threatening to turn whispered criticism linked to Paetongtarn’s age and political maturity into big rumbles, with big-name commentators focusing on not only her involvement in state affairs, but also the glaring publicity of her family affairs (which she shows, rather proudly) as well as how she deals with criticism.
The “Action speaks louder than words” advice can’t be any more useful in this new age when leadership is concerned.
The “Wow. Thailand has such a young leader” foreign exclamation cuts both ways. It’s a compliment as long the performance is good. When the performance is bad, it’s the opposite of admiration.
Biden pardoning his son never big surprise
December 2, 2024: Don’t let anyone say otherwise. US President Joe Biden did what he had been expected to do.
The presidential pardon of Hunter Biden, his convicted son, has come despite repeated White House claims that the outgoing American leader would never do it, but who were they kidding?
History shows the president would have been too good to be true if he had not taken the action. According to CNN, this is just the latest instance of an outgoing president using the pardon power to help a family member. Shortly before they both left office, Bill Clinton pardoned his brother and Donald Trump pardoned the father of his son-in-law, the network pointed out.
With Trump being poised to retake the White House increasing the Democrats’ fears of “revenge”, and Hunter Biden facing sentencing after being found guilty of lying in his gun application form, it had better be safe than sorry.
Prison time had always been a very long shot because Hunter Biden was a first-time offender, but it was a fascinating case anyway. He’s the president’s son and Trump often cried foul over the White House’s “weaponisation of justice”, so whatever happens to Hunter Biden speaks volumes of the directions of the related political course.
Meanwhile, the chaos continues over celebrities and US politics with big star George Clooney reportedly resenting an alleged Barack Obama attempt to cut him loose.
A western news host claims Clooney is reportedly “furious” Obama, one of the most influential Democrats, used him to force President Biden out of the US election race but every key Democrat politician is staying away from the humiliating defeat of the replacement candidate, Kamala Harris, leaving the actor to be the fall guy.
“Clooney’s newspaper article, calling for Biden to stand aside for Kamala Harris, was widely credited for changing the course of the election,” the man told Australia’s Sky News. “Clooney is now complaining that Obama who sort of manipulated him into doing the dirty work on his behalf has left him to take most of the blame for (Harris’) election loss.”
The Clooney controversy aside, the apparently-excessive use of celebrities to influence public opinion in Harris’ favour is mind-boggling, simply because the so-called “celebrity overload” tactic was employed by a political side that seems to cherish equality and real power of the real people.
People’s Party in flood showdown with PM
December 1, 2024: Both the biggest opposition party and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra have their good points when it comes to the flood crisis in the deep South.
Action speaks louder than words, and the prime minister’s use of the biological origin of her husband to dismiss criticism that she does not care about flood-hit southerners is ridiculous, the People’s Party said.
The party’s deputy spokesperson, Pukkamon Nunarnan, said in a Facebook post that when it comes to fellow citizens, a leader’s love and care are felt through how he or she responds to their crises. The flood calamity, Pukkamon said, should have been dealt with through emergency action directed closely by the prime minister.
“We haven’t seen the setting up of a national-level crisis management coordination centre supervised by the prime minister, despite the severity and expanding scale of the problem,” she said.
“It’s a systematic and efficient relief effort that is a proof of love and care, not the saying that I’m married to a southerner. Every Thai knows how lovely the prime minister’s family is, but that fact should be kept at home because it’s not what Thais want to see.”
Pukkamon was making a great point, but so was Paetongtarn when responding to criticism about her presence or lack thereof when suffering southerners are concerned. In countering criticism, the prime minister did highlight the fact that her husband is a southerner, but she also said she did not pay an immediate visit to the crisis region because she did not want to disrupt urgent relief works of the authorities who must focus totally on helping the people.
“Whenever or wherever I go, officials working in the region will more or less have to get involved in receptions,” Paetongtarn said. “That’s why I have had to wait and see when is the best time to visit.”
Politicians going to disaster-hit areas causes the exact problem that Paetongtarn was talking about. Parts of the relief apparatus needs to be spared for receptions, some of them and accompanying distractions always going overboard resulting in substantial disruptions of emergency work.
Some will argue that moderate or low-key visits help boost morale, showing sufferers that they are not fighting alone. Also, a leader can always give instructions regarding receptions. This does not mean, though, that such instructions will always be obeyed, knowing the Thai bureaucracy.
Criticism against Paetongtarn somehow brought back her father’s controversial statement, made when he was prime minister some two decades ago, that people supporting his party would always be on his mind while he prioritised matters. The South had never been his party’s stronghold.
Meanwhile, a TV news coverage of the flood crisis quoted a villager as saying that people losing their furniture, cars or other belongings should get cash relief in the same quick and generous manner as how “digital money” is being distributed.
Daily updates of local and international events by Tulsathit Taptim
