Thai government's great gambit

Oxford-educated Korn, 44, says in an interview with Asia Times Online that the total 1.5 trillion baht [US $44 billion] program, including 800 billion baht worth of borrowing outside of the normal budget, is designed to lead the Thai economy over the next three years and will be "historic" in its scope and proportion. His ruling Democrat Party is touting the fiscal program's over 6,000 different projects as Thai Khem Kaeng, or Thai Strength.

The unprecedented spending comes notably at a time of exceptional Thai weakness, with the export-geared economy contracting 7.1% year-on-year in the first quarter and full year gross domestic product (GDP) projected by some private investment banks to contract by around 5%. Private consumption and investment are stuck in the doldrums, with average factory usage rates of under 60%.

Critics of the government's great gambit say many of the policies smack of influence-peddling and veiled vote-buying at a time the government's coalition partners gear up for new elections, most likely to be held in mid to late 2010. Others see repackaged versions of former exiled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's populist policies, which while in the opposition the Democrats sharply criticized as fiscally reckless and morally corrupt.

Thailand's economic woes have been compounded by years of political instability, which reached chaotic new proportions in April when anti-government protesters blocked roads and rioted violently in the streets of Bangkok. When the military restored order, some viewed it as further evidence that the Democrats were in league with conservative pro-establishment forces that allegedly had a hand in forming its coalition government.

In a June 25 interview with ATol's Southeast Asia Editor Shawn W Crispin, Korn countered such characterizations and outlined how the government and his ministry are willing to risk "political suicide" to close Thailand's yawning gap between rich and poor.

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