There was never any doubt from the word go about Thaksin’s ego. He simply must have it all and that simply spells an endless cycle of political turmoil in Thailand until Thaksin is taken out of the picture.
Connecting the Dots has touched on this topic before, however it is certainly worth repeating as each time Thaksin displays his arrogant ego of his way only, the only solution for Thailand’s political problems becomes more obvious.
Thaksin’s latest rejection of negotiation was simply because negotiation means giving up something. Although the reason he gave that the go between was bias, for Thaksin bias means anything other than what he wants. So for the most part although the word negotiation looks good and may spark a glimmer of hope with some, it is nothing more than a hollow shell when Thaksin is involved.
Looking back at the failing March 14 rally, Thaksin simply refuses to accept that it failed and more money is pouring in to revitalize it. For most people they would recognize this is becoming equal to flogging a dead horse, but Thaksin seeks to revitalize this dead horse even that there is no food for it. Prime Minister Abhisit has offered little or nothing for the Red Shirts to rally about, so motivating the masses about someone farting in a temple is a difficult task at best for even the best of motivators. Few if any of Thaksin’s supporters can relate to the issues being used to motivate the masses.
Even the latest approach of class wars is likely to attract a few in the lower middle class but next to none of the lower class and the poor. The lower middle class may stand to make some minor personal gains, but the lesser educated Thaksin supporters will have a bit of a time making the connections as there are no references of personal experience to compare to.
Nonetheless Thaksin continues to pour good money after bad because he simply can not accept that his big final push Million man March was the most impotent of the series of Red Shirt rallies. So a modified tactic of taking shifts and rotating fatigued protesters out will look to match The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) A.K.A. Yellow Shirts marathon protest. How this will work out is yet to be seen but the fact that it is being funded and is starting to look like a job more than a rally does add a new element of aggravation.
In general this will do big time damage to the tourist industry, but with this being the peek of the hot season and the low end of tourist season only tourism in Bangkok is likely to be affected. This is all meant to bolster Thaksin’s ‘My way only’ arrogant stance. This will also have a negative effect on Thailand’s economic recovery as investors will think twice or more about pulling out their investment wallet for Thailand. The western flavor of Abhisit’s government does add sweetener to companies who want nothing to do with the likes of Thaksin and his excessive corruption.
So once again we are forced to conclude the only end to Thailand’s political turmoil is bring an end to Thaksin. Thaksin still has enough money to cause a prolonged problem in Bangkok. This prolonged Red Shirt presence will wear the already frayed Thai patience even thinner. Couple that with the hot weather shortening any fuse, and the potential of violent confrontations still exist. However the Red Shirts may not be the ones to take the first swing as Thai businesses will be negatively impacted with large numbers of red ants roaming Bangkok. In this case only time will tell on how this new strategy will work.
