Thailand’s next step Part 2

There is no doubts daunting tasks are ahead for Thailand’s new government. Things will be hard enough on their own without the expected self serving sabotage from the pro Thaksin camp.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the business skills convicted fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra has will be of help. However to involve him is just too high a price to pay. Because the democrats have been on the back burner for so long, it is hard to say what in house skills they have sitting on the shelf.

With that said the new government should give some serious consideration to bringing in some western talent as consultants to match Thaksin’s business savvy. A little Thai pride must be swallowed here as the situation is on the dire side. Thaksin did give Thailand the taste of money from outside Thailand, and it is very sweet and addictive. Thailand for a while was actually part of the world business community thanks to Thaksin, but has since fallen off the map.

In the business community Thailand’s Achilles heel is their constant changing of the rules and the games they seem to play. That can be directly traced to not thinking things out to conclusion. When a company decides they want to set up shop in Thailand, they will only do so if they can be insulated from this nonsense. They are not about to spend big money on something that does not look stable. The new government must do what it takes to bring in the investments, and most likely means consultants that can think things out to conclusion.

As it is now, the government must learn to multi task. The advise to appease Thaksin’s support base in Isaan is a very wise piece of advice. It was their neglect that actually allowed Thaksin to rise to power. They can never be neglected again or Thailand will be doomed to repeat what just happened. Although the people of Isaan are essentially ants in Thai hierarchy, there are a lot of ants, and ants are very strong particularly in numbers. So they must be appeased early on to reduce or eliminate the chance of a repeat performance. If Thaksin were Superman, the people of Isaan are the bright sun that gives him his strength. For the democrats to take care of the people of Isaan, it would be the equal of green kriptonite robbing him of his power.

The government also must continue to stimulate the economy and bring tourists back. There will be a wait and see attitude taken by potential tourists to see if this will be a short lived government or not. They already know the democrats will bring more stability to Thailand, but it is yet to be seen how much trouble Thaksin will cause. The feeling tourists had of being insulated from Thai politics has been shattered by Thaksin fallout. Once that insulation is seen again, this will be more or less a gift in the golden offering bowl and the tourists will return. The only catch is the world economy will water down anything. So Thailand must tighten it’s belt like so many other places around the world.


One Response to Thailand’s next step Part 2

  1. His address was like a breadth of fresh air, or more like a cool breeze on a hot and sunny afternoon. Yet, because of being betrayed by past politicians many times over, I’m not taking that ‘cool breeze’ for granted.

    But at least for now, I’m willing to pick up that flash card which reads ‘HOPE’ from where I threw off some years ago.

    And this time, I’ll keep my eyes open!