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Nero Chavalit fiddles while Siam turns
16th August 1997
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Thailand's Prime Minister General Chavalit is more of a "Nero" rather than
a "Hero" as his Cabinet re-shuffle of Friday was roundly dismissed by the
local press and our own friends of the rat as a shuffling on the deck chairs
on the Titanic.
The innocents who pinned hopes in a dramatic power shift within government with the anticipated shuffle were sorely disappointed as the same old names swapped portfolios and corrupt ghosts from the past resurfaced to replace corrupt ghosts of the present. It was a reshuffle not even distantly worthy of events in the past 6 weeks especially which saw an IMF bailout second only in enormity to that of Mexico in 1995, and an embarassing posse of charitable financial gifts from their mates in the Asia-Pacific. ...From darling of the tiger cubs to a beggar with his hands outstretched in a short decade... No wonder, that calls for Chavalit's resignation are coming to a head, though it's hardly personal. Chavalit has presided over only "a short time" of the downturn, following leaders rendered just as ineffective by the the same system of patronage and privelage. More savvy observers of Thai politics were not surprised at the token reshuffle. General Chavalit came to government as an acknowledged "master strategist". Sun Tze aside, this reputation however was largely gained as a military rather than civil man. The dispiriting fact of life, is that of course, Chavalit could do little else. The politico/economic/business mileau in Thailand means that there are always a multititude of personal, political and corporate favours to be returned. All of these debts have to be repaid, from the investment involved in handing our ten Baht notes attached to voting slips to Northern peasants to the multi million deals done at a certain hotel near the Chao Phraya and other "real" seats of power throughout the kingdom. One reason why politicians are so desparate to cling onto power in long terms in government is that is takes a while to even pay off the financial debt of getting into government before the investment starts to pay off. It's great to have a master strategist on your side. But if he's not looking after your interests, it's not so hot.... A former well known politician and political columnist for a Thai daily last week had his car bombed (a not infrequent event in Bangkok), after references in parliament to the press spreading rumours of a possible coup and personal asides about a "pipe smoking devil". Many here think the 3 occurences are not unrelated. ...And Chavalit's Nero act possibly has done more to hasten an internal military solution when government solutions are demonstrated to be so palpably inefficient. But will it soon be the people's turn? Can business and professionals for one, who have also been beneficiaries of a decade of Thai prosperity, take the lead in His majesty King Bhumibol Adulayadej's call at the swearing in cerenomy for new ministers a couple of days ago for honesty in all dealings? In the absence of government solutions, before a military solution, and with a many stout hearted men and women, King and people can still prevail over a politico/government/military complex that many say is too entrenched to change peacefully. If so, all of the present troubles may well be a blessing in disguise They would surely be Heroes, rather than fiddling Nero's.
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