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Billionaire set to helm Thailand
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THAKSIN SHINAWATRA, whose telecommunications empire has made him one of Thailand's richest men, now appears well on the way to fulfilling his ultimate ambition: to lead his country.
The quintessential political survivor has carried his populist Thai Rak Thai party to victory in January 6's poll, overcoming serious graft allegations that dogged his campaign.
Thai Rak Thai, formed just two years ago in the aftermath of the regional economic crisis, was the only serious challenger to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai's ruling Democrats.
Thailand's Nation daily said Thaksin's victory marked a new era for Thai politics.
“This is the first time big business and conglomerates will run the country,” it said in an editorial. “Other countries might have movie stars or former prisoners as their presidents, but Thais have decided to pick a billionaire. They probably entertain the hope that they too will be rich like their leader.”
Thaksin won his resounding victory through promises of lavish spending to boost the economy. Voters punished Chuan for a perceived failure to lift the economy out of the doldrums.
Thaksin, a former policeman who built a high-tech empire including Thailand's biggest telecoms group, won strong rural support with a pledge to allocate one million baht (US$23,000) from the national budget to each of Thailand's 70,000 villages.
He also plans a suspension of debt repayments for three years for small farmers owing less than 100,000 baht each.
The road to the top has not been smooth, but the charismatic tycoon with the wide grin proved he was not easily discouraged.
Running for parliament as part of the Palang Dharma Party in 1995, Thaksin promised to solve Bangkok's notorious traffic problem within six months or resign.
He failed to fix gridlock, and in the next general election his party lost all its Bangkok seats save one. Humiliated, Thaksin resigned as leader.
In 1997, he was charged by then Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh with formulating policies to salvage Thailand's crisis-hit economy. But the emergency measures had little effect, and Chavalit's government fell.
Now he is back, at the helm of the cutely named Thai Rak Thai (Thai Love Thai) and headed for control of the 500-seat House of Representatives.
Mixing populist appeals with sophisticated speeches about information technology, Thaksin finally seems to have broken his jinx and claim a position observers had long predicted he would one day hold.
Even an indictment by the nation's anti-graft body last month did little to dent his public appeal, particularly in the poor but populous north-eastern and northern provinces which have become his stronghold.
And in the cities, voters said they were bored with the Chuan administration and wanted to give Thaksin a chance, despite a risk the graft charges will see him banished from politics within months.
Thaksin historically has been more successful in business than in politics.
A former police officer from the northern city of Chiang Mai, he parlayed connections in the government, police force and banking sector into a string of low-interest loans and profitable contracts in the mid-1980s.
Armed with these, Thaksin and his family built a conglomerate called Shin Corporation that included subsidiaries selling computers, mobile phones and cable television.
The business, which went on to launch Thailand's first satellite, made him a dollar billionaire but did not quell his enormous ambition.
After a brief stint as foreign minister in late 1994, Thaksin entered politics for good in 1995, joining Palang Dharma, resigning, and then assisting Chavalit with crisis management.
When Chavalit resigned, Thaksin quickly regrouped and in July 1998 formed Thai Rak Thai, vowing “to be the strongest advocate of political reform”.
Observers believe the new party is far more potent than any of Thaksin's previous political ventures.
“Thai Rak Thai made a high-profile debut, has many capable people working within it, and generally seems to have a consistent platform,” said analyst Sunai Phasuk.
Despite the whiff of scandal, Thaksin has frequently pledged that Thai Rak Thai will clean up the notoriously clubby and factionalized Thai political scene.
He wins, but for how long?
Thai Rak Thai party has won a clear majority in the first Thai election held under new anti-corruption rules. Yet its leader Thaksin still faces a crisis that could rob him of power and plunge Thai politics into US-style confusion. Once again, the fate of Thailand's new government is up in the air.
The country's anti-corruption commission indicted him last month for deliberately concealing his wealth through share transfers to his maids, chauffeur, bodyguard and other servants.
Thaksin has long been renowned for his largesse. Two of his maids are regulars in listings of the kingdom's richest people. His son, Panthongtae, 23, topped last year's list after Thaksin gave him the family shares before contesting the election. While that transfer was public, the commission is investigating covert deals in the mid-1990s, when Thaksin was in the Thai cabinet.
If Thaksin is found guilty by the court, he will be booted out of office and banned from politics for five years.
Thaksin has said he will contest the indictment, until a final decision by the Constitutional Court, likely to come after the election. Some observers mutter darkly about the threat of a military coup if political instability continues.
So while Thailand's first ever election under its new rules has delivered a clear result, confusion looks set to rein to a while yet.(SD-Agencies)
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