Nice Mr. Abhisit

Abhisit Vejjajiva during and interview I had with him (edited myself out of course) at Parliament in August 27th 2008.

I personally have more hope in Abhisit's ability to navigate the rats-nest of Thai politics but there are some serious questions over the Democrat's cozy relationship with PAD and General Anupong.

When I ask Abhisit about PAD and the Democrats I got a standard, well rehearsed, and essentially useless answer. (In my defense, my focus had been about the southern conflict and I just added the question on a whim.)

C: That is all the questions I had regarding the south (southern border provinces) but I would like to ask a couple questions about the current situation with the People’s Alliance for Democracy. What is the Democrat Party’s stance on the current conflict?

Abhisit: At the moment we are very concerned with the confrontation that is taking place and we urge restraint on all sides. Particularly, we do not want to see an outbreak of violence and eventually this issue has to be resolved through legal and democratic means.

But more critical and deserving questions could have been formed such as these over at Thai Politico:

"Take the violent and fascist fanatics of the PAD - while they were illegally occupying Government House and Bangkok's airports; while they were shooting at people on the streets of the Thai capital; while they were attacking the police; while they were kidnapping and beating people; while they were dumping bodies in back alleys; while they were running roughshod over every single law they could get away with, Abhisit said nothing. Such is Abhisit's highly educated 'belief' in 'democracy' and 'clean' politics he failed to open his mouth once and condemn the acts of the PAD. In fact, he allowed Democrat MPs to openly attend, speak at and support the PAD's completely illegal acts, something which he still hasn't censured. The upshot is, like a Mafia Don, Abhisit was happy for a gang of heavies to do his dirty work while he hid in his mansion drinking tea in the effete manner he learnt in the hallowed halls of the Britain's most elite private school.
....

"Anupong has gone on record as stating he 'advised' Abhisit's coalition partners what to do. In any functioning democracy such intervention by the head of the army would demolish, in one single moment, the claims of the existing government's legitimacy."

The effete swipe is funny, but as a character trait, effete certainly is preferable to blustering and pugnacious.

Yet PAD's and Anupong's relationship with the Democrats is much more serious and casts very real doubt over this current government and Abhisit's fluff answer of resolving the political crisis through 'legal and democratic means'.