Word: populists
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...abuse of power. Their key demand is a new election, whereby a party linked to Thaksin could conceivably return to power. But in recent weeks, their raison d'être has expanded beyond loyalty to a fallen politician. The movement's leaders now include a motley crew of populist orators, social activists and opportunist politicians - all preaching the gospel of class struggle. "I don't even like Thaksin," says Thienchai Mangmeetanasothon, owner of a small business in Bangkok. "It's not about one person. It's about how the government doesn't care about people who aren't rich...
...legion of bus commuters. He is everything a Thai farmer or construction worker is not: a pale-complexioned ethnic Chinese with nary a callus on his palms. (Abhisit fits that category too.) But Thaksin knew how to tap into a voter base long underexploited by traditional Thai politicians. His populist policies, which included heavily subsidized health care and microfinancing schemes, delighted the lower classes and helped Thaksin win the largest electoral mandate in Thai history. Economists have critiqued the loan projects, pointing out that much of the money was spent on satisfying consumption cravings, as opposed to building businesses, thereby...
...snap election, not least because every election since the 2001 ballot that swept in Thaksin has favored the reds. At any rate, the Prime Minister has until 2011 to hold polls and doing so right now - in the wake of a global financial crisis and before his own populist reforms have had time to take full effect - would likely mean career suicide. Meantime, his reluctance to travel widely in Isaan - the impoverished northeastern farm belt where Thaksin's support is strongest - because of safety concerns makes Abhisit look even further removed from the very commoners he vowed to protect when...
...only advice Pacquiao has ignored. His first love is boxing, but cockfighting and high-stakes gambling - preferably both at the same time - come a close second. Singson warns that gambling will drain Pacquiao's fortune and besmirch his populist image. "I told him, 'People look at you as their idol. It's bad if they see you gambling.' So now he's stopped [going to] casinos already." Really? Less than two days after his homecoming, the boxer could be spotted playing Texas Hold'em at a windowless poker joint in Manila in the small hours. Peering protectively through nearby...
Before the bombing in Oklahoma City, few Americans would have thought that either Miller or her show posed a serious threat to the civic order. Unlike many other American citizens who identify themselves as "patriots" -- an amorphous, far-right populist movement of both armed militias and unarmed groups that harbor a deep distrust of government -- Miller does not spend her weekends running around in camouflage, shooting at imagined enemies. Nor does she buy into every conspiracy theory that crackles along the patriot grapevine, like last week's alert that the Oklahoma catastrophe-which "patriots" suspect involved three bombs...