Wednesday, January 20, 2010

PAD opens party headquarter with little fanfare


A bright sea of yellow did not dominate the opening of the New Politics Party's headquarters yesterday - instead it was light green, the party's new symbolic colour.

However, transforming the yellow-shirt movement into a formal political figure started off rather sluggishly. Even the celebrations were subdued.

Sondhi Limthongkul, clad in a light green jacket, did not wear the confident look of a fearless political warrior. Instead he was seen pacing around a small room in the building on Phra Sumeru Road - headquarters of the New Politics Party, hoping to become a reactionary force in politics.

He accepted flowers and a palm-sized Buddha statue from well-wishers, as monks had their breakfast in another room.

It was not 9.06am yet - the time deemed auspicious for opening the headquarters. Yet the low-key opening looked all but auspicious and the first evidence was that Sondhi's charm had lost its shininess. Instead, he looked worried about the tough game of politics and the rough road ahead, especially with his yellow-shirted supporters having such high expectations.

Science and Technology Minister Kalaya Sophonpanich showed up bearing a bouquet of flowers, and was closely followed by other Democrat MPs, including Somkiat Pongpaiboon.

Praphan Khunmee, a core leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy, was seen welcoming the guests. Dr Chai-anan Samudvanija, a regular columnist for Manager Online, was also present to offer moral support.

Perhaps the lack of vim and vigour at this opening could be blamed on feng shui, or rather the lack of harmonious surroundings. Though the building chosen for the headquarters had the advantage of being located in one of Bangkok's oldest roads with Klong Bang Lamphu behind it, it somehow did not stand out as a venue of vigour and grandeur. The feng shui master apparent failed to take in all the ingredients to create a harmony between structure and utilisation.

The most inauspicious thing, though, was the clear absence of big-time VIP guests. The Democrats had only sent junior members, while other parties chose to stay away. This might imply that the New Politics Party would end up being isolated during the next elections.

Though Sondhi and other key leaders have hinted that New Politics Party will not be used to form a new government, but will instead grow into politics organically, this assertion hardly sounds convincing. The hard reality of Thai politics is that the Opposition has little effect on meaningful change.

Without the backing of financiers with deep pockets, the New Politics Party would be hard pressed to earn the 30 seats needed to qualify as a medium-sized political party. Sondhi may not be able to attract enough funds to lead his party to a decent victory.

An MP needs at least Bt30 million for campaigning and this does not even ensure a victory. In other words, the party would need at least Bt1 billion as seed money. Does the New Politics Party have this cash?

When former coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and Gen Somjet Boonthanom, another coup member, showed up the mood just got darker. Sonthi now leads the Mataphum Party.

Sondhi's yellow-shirt movement's rallying against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had provided a catalyst for the military coup in 2006.

Still, the new party's leaders realised the show had to go on. Core leaders of the party, including Suriyasai Katasila and Somsak Kosaisuk, assembled on a small stage behind the building to rekindle the spirit of unity. When it was time for Sondhi to speak, he let go in his usual style: "In the future, we would not join a coalition if it dwells on the old political formula. We are not ready to become a government or the Opposition, but choose to stay neutral and strive to create checks and balances in the government and look into corruption."

No comments: