...And Jupiter Aligns With Mars

Khun Thaksin, you were so close. You've worked diligently throughout your tenure to raise Thailand's status in the global marketplace. Your administration has tried ingenuously to shift the kingdom's image from a cheap haven for backpackers and sex tourists to a sophisticated hub for everything from aviation to fashion, from literacy to healthcare. Recently you enjoyed positive meetings in the U.S. Oval Office and with various heads of state throughout Europe.

You were so close to pulling off the ruse that Thailand can compete with Singapore for Southeast Asia's "most developed" nation slot. In a recent fit of whimsy you even remarked that all Thai schoolchildren should have laptop computers before your term ends. (While the government is spreading the love, might they offer me a subsidized laptop as well? I'd take good care of it, promise!)

But then you had to go and blow it all by using astrology to avoid answering journalists' queries -- and to dismiss accountability to your electorate -- for at least the next five weeks.

According to the 21 Nov. Bangkok Post, you told reporters that "Mercury is aligned directly with my star. Mercury is no good." You then said that because Mercury will not clear your star until 2006, the media "will have to wait until this year is over" for any more comments.

Sorry?

You've gone crackers if you think the very industrialized nations you hope to impress will accept Thailand's elected leader dropping out of public life for over a month as nothing extraordinary. They might wonder, where does Khun Thaksin think he's going, to sleep-away camp?!

Or maybe you've decided to sacrifice international opinion in order to save face at home. Maybe you're pulling this whole "I'm just an ordinary [billionaire] Thai subject, dealing with a bad star chart just like you ordinary [non-billionaire] Thai subjects sometimes have to, so can't you give a guy a break, just like you'd want?" act to glean sympathy from an otherwise discontented electorate. Maybe the astrology move is a ploy for public comaraderie, so the mean old media might cease hounding you for answers about ongoing violence in the South, the six (so far) lawsuits you've filed against media outlets, your sister's using an air force plane for a birthday party, a date for the new airport to open for real, your Thai Rak Thai party blatantly giving development priority to TRT provinces before others, and on, and on...

Word to the wise: If you want the world to treat you like the powerful democratic leader you believe you are, you can't just cut yourself off from the media (and thus a whole country of constituents) for five weeks-plus. The problems facing your administration won't wither away simply because you refuse to discuss them. In fact, they might even blow up in your face. So be brave. For your own sake and for Thailand's sake, accept your stars and planets as they are and work with them -- as cautiously as need be, but please work with them. Otherwise you might lose the job with which the public entrusted you nearly five years ago.

Comments

[sarah]

Actually, the developed nations just might understand his calling upon the stars in his hour of need. Bush famously calls for God, at each and every opportunity. And that's obviously working a treat ... isn't it? Hmm :/

[Elemmaciltur]

What a load of bollocks from Thaksin...*sorry about the language*

[Lyle]

sarah, you're right about bush wearing his faith on his sleeve. i nearly brought that up in this post, considering he presides over the most secretive administration since nixon's, but then decided it was biting off more than i could chew in one sitting.

i'm shocked that thaksin thinks it's ok to freeze out the press and his people for at least five weeks -- whatever the reason, which in this case happens to be astrology. i hope my post didn't sound like criticism of star signs, about which i know little but as a pragmatist would never discount! i hope thaksin decides that speaking carefully during a bad chart may serve his people better than five weeks-plus of silence. otherwise maybe thailand's parliament will choose a deputy to take over pm duties until thaksin can speak in public again.

i'm an aries but have no idea what that indicates. this topic has made me curious about it, so i'll go googling...

[Lana]

Let's not forget that Thaksin once said, "Democracy is not my goal."

I really don't think he is aspiring to be a "powerful democratic leader"...more like a powerful despot.

Perhaps he'll follow Myanmar's lead and just pack up and hide!

[Elemmaciltur]

Lyle, try www.astro.com it's a very good site!

[Lyle]

thanks for the lead to astro.com, elemmaciltur (a.k.a. my wise elvish-speaking fellow blogger).

welcome, lana! thanks for putting in your very insightful two cents. didn't thaksin also say at some point that he would run the kingdom the way he ran shincorp as c.e.o.? as sarah said: hmm. very interesting, these politico types.

[Heather]

Holy Cow, Seriously mind-blowing. My fam lived in Venezuela for awhile and dealt with the craziness in government. Man! :) That's all I can say. I have no words for such insanity.