The bubbly has sat in the fridge for weeks awaiting victory for the populist party. Finally, the moment has arrived.
‘We’ll wait for the Election Commission to confirm the results...then we’ll tackle that bottle of champagne,’ Maiyuu said a moment ago.
I have asked him for weeks if we could open the bottle early – everyone knew a victory for Pheu Thai was coming, though perhaps not with the thumping majority delivered on the day - but Maiyuu held out for the big event.
I am pleased he did, as it makes success for our party that much sweeter.
We like Pheu Thai, not so much for its policies, or even its charismatic leader, but simply because it represents the voice of the unloved majority.
The Democrat-led government which it will replace came to power in coalition talks after the 2007 election, called by the military junta which in September 2006 overturned the government led by Thaksin Shinawatra.
Preliminary results from the EC last night indicated that with 94% of the vote counted, Pheu Thai - led by Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck - had won a decisive majority, with 261 of 500 parliamentary seats.
Its nearest rival, the Democrats, led by Abhisit Vejjajiva – how I enjoyed all those fawning references in the foreign press to his Oxford education, as if that should mean something to struggling Thais - won 162 seats.
Pheu Thai will still need the help of smaller parties to govern, and coalition talks were already underway last night.
Speaking to supporters at her party headquarters, Yingluck declined to declare victory until final results are released. But she said: 'I don’t want to say that Pheu Thai wins today. It’s a victory of the people.'
In a shaky democracy such as ours, victory can be claimed by no party, but to the people at large who voted that party into office.
Yingluck knows, as we all do, that no electoral victory can hold unless the military and establishment accept the result. Bugger the poor! If the Bangkok elite’s interests are threatened, the government has to go.
Odd contrasts abound. The awkward sight on the campaign trial of nerdish Abhisit, struggling to fit in with the common folk as he sampled street food in a stinking, bustling fresh market.
Against that, the queues of ordinary Thais waiting at polling stations for hours in the rain yesterday, just for the chance to have their say.
Let’s give the last word to Maiyuu, who as a child was forced to live on hand-me-down school uniforms, as his parents could afford to buy him none of his own.
‘Under Thaksin, Thais led decent lives, with acceptable wages. Under the Democrats, the cost of living rose too high, and we suffered.
‘Now that the people have spoken, the next government will have to listen.’
5 comments:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous3 July 2011 at 23:42
Cheers! You've got to admire the Thai electorate for coming out in scores and producing such an unambiguous result.
ReplyDelete
Bkkdreamer4 July 2011 at 17:56
They have waited four years to have their say.
Ball and his family voted at a local school. I don't think a single member of his family voted for the oily Democrats.
I doubt many other people in the slums did either, as it held out so little hope to people that their lives would improve.
ReplyDelete
Stry4 July 2011 at 22:41
I know next to nothing about Thai politics, other than what I've been reading over the last year, or so, on various blogs and comment boards (when they discuss it), but from what I have been able to pick up, this somehow does seem to feel right (I tend to generally identify with the "regular folk" in situations like this).
But also, from what I've been reading, Maiyuu is probably very wise to suggest waiting until the Election Commission confirms it.
And by the way, great photos (as always) And that last photo of the dude in the white jeans......DAMN. Very hot indeed.
ReplyDelete
Bkkdreamer5 July 2011 at 17:14
One analysis piece I read yesterday said that a rise in consumer goods prices over the past six months did more to hurt the Democrats than memories of the street clashes last year which claimed 92 lives.
The opposition parties made most of the government's role in ordering the deaths of 'innocent' Thais, as they put it. Either way, the Democrats were stuffed.
ReplyDelete
Glenn19 July 2011 at 20:51
and if/when the lives of the poor do not improve under the new Thaksin, then what? While government policy does have some effect on inflation and so forth, a lot of this stuff is beyond the control of any government or prime minister.
Good luck, Thailand.
ReplyDelete