19 MAY 2015
Abhisit contemplates life after politics. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Mrs Namman was reading the Bangkok Post yesterday to improve her English.
She does not usually read it, as she thinks it is a red rag. She prefers to speak English with a strong Nation accent.
But yesterday she read something in the Post that really got her worked up. She had to stop pounding the chilli paste and read the article out to me:
“Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has hinted he could leave politics for good if his party does not win at the next election.”
Holding back tears of joy and sorrow (caused by chilli or Abhisit?) Mrs Namman continued to quote the breaking news:
“I do not have much time left for political work. I do not know when the election will happen. When the next poll is held, I will contest it. But if I do not succeed, that will be the end,” Mr Abhisit said.
Mrs Namman and I both love Khun Abhisit. We both agree that another election loss would bring a very happy end to a wonderful career of losses.
Some of the mean and ungenerous commentators at New Mandala may want to count how many times Khun Abhisit has lost. But I refuse! His eminent record of electoral failure could never be reduced to a single number.
And remember that he honourably declined, not once but twice, to limit his tally of defeats by withdrawing from elections that he was certain to lose.
Morality and self-sacrifice indeed.
Khun Abhisit’s contribution to Thai style democracy is remarkable. He is a wonderful illustration of just how hard it is for good honest men to win elections.
He tried a coup. No luck. He tried a new constitution. Defeat again. Honest Mark even tried banning his opponents from politics, but the buggers put up new ones to beat him.
A good man like Abhisit needed an airport occupation, cooperative judges, and trigger happy generals to give him a short stint at the helm. But as soon as he went to an election, guess what? No luck! Yingluck!! F**k!!!
He even tried populism. But Abhisit’s version of populism was much too sophisticated for the chaw na and it wasn’t even popular!
It’s tough being a senior member of the Democrat party when elections keep putting the other side into office. Democrats are meant to respect democracy. But Abhisit had the moral strength to forge a new style of non-democratic Democrat.
Under such inspired moral leadership his party’s honourable record of defeat is unparalleled.
We can only hope that General P respects the right of Khun Abhisit to lose one more time.
Then he can hang up his gloves (which still look surprisingly unblemished, Mrs Namman commented), confident in the love of a nation that has consistently rejected him.
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