September 13, 2024: Acting for the camera interferes with meaningful relief efforts, and politicians must stop doing it.
The latest wrong example was provided by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who literally dragged a lot of officials through the mud in Chiang Rai today. Everyone should have been at his or her workstation barking orders, facilitating, supervising and coordinating urgent provision of aid.
To be fair to Paetongtarn, she was simply following a Thai political tradition, which requires political leaders to “pretend” to do the jobs that rescue workers, garbage collectors or firemen do instead of really working.
Also, to be fair to Paetongtarn, she cannot change the tradition without the help of the media and Thai society.
Imagine how much sooner the aid will get to the victims if the authorities don’t have to waste their time preparing reception and security.
Politics as we know it comes hand in hand with image building. Make no mistake, high-level visits can sometimes be uplifting, but this trend has gone too far all over the world, with fake or unnecessary tears probably getting more media attention than the real ones.
Daily updates of domestic and international events by Tulsathit Taptim
