The diagnosis is right but the prescription is suspect

By suthicahi yoon Published on July 10, 2008 The controversial idea has been variously attacked as being "elitist" or "regressive" or even "treacherous". But the "New Politics" concept put forward by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is perhaps nothing more than a red herring to distract public attention from the politics as usual being employed by the ruling party headed by Samak Sundaravej. Perhaps the promulgation of the New Politics manifesto is the PAD's tactical move to keep its seven-week rally alive. If the protest is to be sustained, a new purpose has to be found. The original objective of the protest to rid the country of "Thaksinmonics" and oust the Samak government is getting stale. Even if those two aims were achievable in the short run, the PAD's leadership is apparently searching for a "visionary... [read full story]