Government to continue populist agenda

The Democrat-led coalition government will stick with Thaksin-style populist polices in tackling the country's economic slump, which it believes could be worse than the 1997 financial crisis.

Populist polices aimed at helping grassroots people in rural areas were pushed hard by MPs from a faction controlled by influential Buri Ram politician Newin Chidchob, the Phum Jai Thai party and Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana in a meeting yesterday to set the direction of the new administration.

Prime minister-elect and Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva will head a team to handle economic affairs. Democrat deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij is tipped to take the finance portfolio, according to party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban.

The Newin faction's proposals include the continuation of the small, medium and large community lending programme, village funds, monthly welfare allowances for the elderly and policies to help the unemployed, measures to help farmers and to stop the free-fall in prices of agricultural products.

It also proposed amending the constitution with the greatest possible public participation.

But Boonchong Wongtrairat, a Nakhon Ratchasima MP from the Newin faction, said charter amendment was not an urgent issue and denied the group was seeking amnesty for anybody.

Pornthiwa Nakasai, an MP from the Phum Jai Thai party (the reformed Matchimathipataya) said the party had also proposed similar policies, in particular measures to cope with the economic problems which are expected to leave hundreds of thousands of people jobless next year.

Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana secretary-general Pradit Phataraprasit said coalition parties agreed that policies from previous governments that had proved to be yielding good results would be maintained.

Mr Korn confirmed that the new government would stick with populist policies and help farmers cope with falling commodity prices through government buying schemes.

He admitted that the economic problems now were greater than during the crisis a decade ago.

"It's tougher this time, not because of the magnitude of the (financial) losses, but because other channels are facing their own problems," he said.

In 1997, Thailand devalued the baht to make its goods cheaper overseas, but that strategy won't work this time, he said.

"We can't easily trade our way out of this trouble," he said, noting that Thailand's three biggest export markets, the United States, Japan and the European Union, were facing recession.

Mr Korn admitted that political divisions needed to be fixed quickly to restore investor confidence and attract foreign money back to an economy driven by exports and tourism.

"The political strife clearly has an impact on the economy. If we can't resolve it, no matter how good the economic policy is, we will not be able to implement it successfully."

The coalition parties will meet again on Friday to thrash out the details of the government policy platform.

Mr Abhisit will today travel to meet and listen to representatives from the agricultural, tourism, labour and industrial sectors that have all been hit hard by the economic downturn.

Democrat spokesman Buranat Samuttharak said after the party's victory in forming the new government, members have now found themselves unable to visit northern and northeastern provinces, which are the strongholds of the Puea Thai party — the reincarnation of the dissolved People Power party.

He urged people in those provinces to give the party a chance.

Somchai Phetprasert, a Puea Thai MP for Nakhon Ratchasima, said the party would set up a monitoring team to keep a close watch on each minister of the Democrat-led government.

The opposition Puea Thai's first job is to prepare a team of MPs to question the new government's policy platform to be delivered to parliament as a constitutional precondition to legalising its administrative powers. (With Wire Service reports)