‘New generation’ Abhisit unveils populist agenda

By Daniel Ten Kate

10 August 2006

Democrat chief Abhisit Vejjajiva called himself a “new generation leader” yesterday as he formally unveiled an agenda built around cheap petrol, free health care and the elimination of fees for elementary school students.

“I will play the role of a new generation leader, with honesty and the ability to keep up on dirty tricks,” he told reporters at party headquarters yesterday. “I will listen to people’s comments and make fast decisions.”

The Democrats hope the comprehensive policy package – titled “People’s Agenda: By People, For People” – will help them crack into Thai Rak Thai’s overwhelming rural support in the next election. After boycotting the voided April 2 election, the country’s oldest political party is hoping to convince voters that it is still a political force.

Since party executives had dropped hints of the policies for weeks, nothing very surprising was revealed yesterday. Many of the policies mirror the so-called “populist policies” of the ruling Thai Rak Thai, but with a Democrat pledge for more transparency and less corruption.

Abhisit said the party will promote free-trade agreements and the privatization of state-owned enterprises – two planks of Thai Rak Thai’s economic policy. But the Democrats plan to hold more public consultations and require Parliament to approve the deals.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra chided the Democrats yesterday, saying: “The policies of Thai Rak Thai have been in the people’s hearts for five or six years now, so we don’t need to announce any new policies.”

Oxford-educated Abhisit also blasted the government for its handling of the southern insurgency. The Democrats, which are the strongest party in the South, would “promote justice and equality” in the violence-wracked region, he said.

“The Democrats will not employ a kidnap and kill policy,” Abhisit told reporters.

One of the party’s bolder proposals was a plan to cut petrol prices by two baht a liter. The party would ask the Finance Ministry, the largest shareholder of state-owned enterprise PTT, to increase its dividend payments to 50 percent from 30 percent.

That extra money would go towards repaying the Oil Fund, which racked up more than 90 billion baht in debt while the government subsidized petrol from January 2004 to July 2005. Oil companies would stop charging consumers two baht a liter to repay the fund, thus resulting in an across-the-board price decrease.

Analysts were initially skeptical of the plan.

PTT can afford 50 percent dividend payments when oil prices are high, but that policy could hurt the company if the price falls, said Kittichan Sirisukaracha, an energy analyst with Kim Eng Securities.

“Fifty percent is OK some years, but not others,” he said. “If the global oil price drops to $50 per barrel, then PTT would not have enough money for capital expenditures. They have a lot of new projects coming up in the next five years.”

Caretaker Energy Minister Viset Choopiban called the proposal “very unlikely.” The former PTT president, who oversaw the government’s subsidy program, apparently has learned the dangers of distorting the oil price.

“If the oil price is reduced, it will reflect a non-real price of oil and encourage people to consume even more,” he said. “That will increase oil imports as well as the trade deficit.”

The Democrats also plan to offer free health care, since the 30 baht citizens now pay covers only a small cost of the program anyway. The party plans to increase spending on healthcare from the current 1,659 baht a head to 2,000 baht a head.

“This will enable patients to receive better medical service and quality medicine,” Abhisit said, adding that the party wants to put more doctors in rural areas.

A Democrat-led government would also eliminate fees that elementary school students need to pay for various equipment, like computers, until the M6 level. Students will also be able to borrow textbooks instead of buying them.

In mimicking a core TRT policy, the Democrats introduced a “sufficiency economy” village loan program. Under its Village Fund, Thai Rak Thai offers one million baht to each village.

The party also plans to raise the minimum wage by 13 baht for workers in Bangkok. Last month, the Ministry of Finance proposed a 10 baht increase. “That is suitable to match the current cost of living,” Abhisit said.

“Entrepreneurs will accept it and it will not affect economic stability.”

In a bid to win the support of mothers, the Democrats also said the party would provide free milk to all children until age five.

Thai Day

Steps on a stairway inside the Democrat Party headquarters are posted with messages ridiculing policy platforms of the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party. The Democrats yesterday introduced their policy platform in preparation for the next general election.