MONEY POLITICS OR ...

How one million cows won an election


By Zhen Ming


DUDE, if I told you money politics has something to do with chickens and cows, you just might tell me I'm full of, well, chicken droppings.

But hold your horses (okay, more animals but bear with me).

Let me take to you back, to February 2005. Incumbent Thai multi-millionaire prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, running for his second term in office, is promising running water in every province and computers for every school. He also says he is 'giving away' one million cows.

Thai government, he says, would 'lend' cows to poor farming families who could then sell the milk and calves for profit. They could also use the same cows as collateral, to borrow money for their farms.

Thaksin's promise reminds me of another promise, but in another place (the US), and in another time (1928). Back then, a campaign circular promoting the Republican Party presidential candidate, Mr Herbert Hoover, promised that if he won, there would be 'a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage'.

It was tacky but Mr Hoover's promise of prosperity contributed to a landslide victory for him.
In Thaksin's case, Thailand's rural poor was 'sold' on his promises and his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party was convincingly re-elected in a landslide victory.

Power to the animals.

By fighting the election on a US-style party platform, Thaksin had re-written Thailand's social contract - with populist promises to redistribute income more fairly.

But this did not put an end to the dark side of money and politics that's still pervasive in Thailand (and, some say, most of Asia).

Prior to Thaksin, businessmen, mostly those with moderate wealth, had dominated Thai politics. But with Thaksin, a group of the biggest Bangkok business groups now called the shots.

Sometimes, in this Land of Smiles, corruption money comes in the form of big bribes. Here, detractors allege, the system 'works' because the 'unspoken' procedures for offering a bribe are well known and well understood.

'The parties involved are businessmen, and the bureaucrats and political office-holders who are in a position to influence business profits,' observed Mr Pasuk Phongpaichit, the co-author of Corruption And Democracy In Thailand.

'But the big issue and the big money is about the interface between business and government.

'Parliamentary candidates invest huge sums in getting elected. Indeed, by some estimates (not ours), the total unofficial expenditure on a Thai general election is equal to the official expenditure in a US presidential campaign. This, of course, is quite bizarre,' he added.

Except this is Thailand - and there are cows and cowboys a-plenty.

Goodbye, Thaksin

In September 2006, following months of anti-government protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the Thai military staged a bloodless coup.

Thaksin was booted out. A new Thai cabinet later scraped the TRT's controversial One Million Cows distribution project, citing 'non-viability' as the reason.

But the People's Power Party (PPP), alleged to be a proxy for the disbanded TRT, soon won new elections - on the back of a promise to now provide, would you believe it, two million cows - yes, twice as many as the TRT.

Except that this is Thailand - and our Thai urban cowboys are still at it.

Just 12 days ago the anti-government PAD took to the streets again. It raided a government-controlled TV station and launched protests outside several government ministries.

On Tuesday, one pro-government demonstrator died and 43 others from both sides were hurt in violent clashes, provoking prime minister Samak Sundaravej to declare a state of emergency and to propose a referendum.

So, what could happen next? So far, most of Bangkok has gone about its business as normal, though there are fears that there may be some economic fallout.

What's worrisome to me is the PAD's demand for a Thai-style 'New Politics'. It will automatically reduce every Thai citizen's right to elect their own representatives by at least half.

It's a class war between two well-moneyed groups; so for now, expect money and politics - our proverbial Siamese twins - to remain hopelessly inseparable.


Source: The New Paper, Sun 07 Sep 2008