Published on May 17, 2011
The ruling Democrat Party should win the upcoming election as several opinion polls conducted by the party showed strong backing from voters, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday.
Suthep said the Democrats should win some 20 seats in the Northeast, which is a traditional stronghold of the opposition Pheu Thai Party.
His comments are in contrast to what Chalerm Yoobamrung said yesterday.
The veteran politician, who is a member of the opposition, predicted that Pheu Thai Party would gain a 30-seat edge over the Democrats in the overall poll result.
The deputy premier rejected this, saying the Democrats would win at least 200 seats and that Pheu Thai's top candidate - Yingluck Shinawatra - would only listen to what her older brother, convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, told her over the phone.
He said Yingluck could not compare to her main adversary, Abhisit Vejjajiva, who had proved he could run the country.
"Voters don't know how Yingluck will do her job as she will be listening to her brother's voice on the phone. She will be like a shadow puppet, which puts her at a great disadvantage," Suthep said, adding that he had to mind the comments he made because Yingluck was a woman.
He said Abhisit would get a perfect 10 as a candidate for the top job because he had steered the country through a crisis over the past two years.
However, Chalerm spoke in Yingluck's defence, saying she knew what to do and people should not underestimate her abilities. He said she would be given proper advice by several old hands. He compared the Democrat Party to a boxer who knew he was losing a sparring match, adding that he was 1 million per cent certain Pheu Thai would win.
Meanwhile, Chumpol Silapa-archa, leader of the coalition partner Chart Thai Pattana Party, said it was far too early to judge anything despite the many opinion polls that have been conducted.
As for some voters calling for Abhisit and Yingluck to hold a one-on-one political debate like they do in the United States, Chumpol said this was not part of Thai culture.
He explained that a person may not be a good public speaker, but could be a good administrator. The politician urged people to vote for the party, not the person and expressed fear that moves to destroy Yingluck's character had already begun.
Source: The Nation
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