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Shinawatra parties rally across Thailand as crucial court ruling looms


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Parties aligned with Thailand’s powerful Shinawatra clan staged major rallies Saturday ahead of a court ruling that could deal a gut punch to their prospects in national elections later this month.  

Public gatherings were taking place across the country — including in the Chiang Mai hometown of divisive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.  

Shinawatra-linked Pheu Thai party members addressed throngs of supporters in a stadium in Chiang Mai as the sun went down, promising development and incentives for entrepreneurs in the northern city.  

Thaksin, who lives in self-exile to avoid jail in Thailand, is adored by rice farmers and large sections of urban working-class voters for his pro-poor policies and steering of the economy.  

But he is despised by the royalist elite, whose allies have failed to beat him at the polls since 2001 and instead have relied on coups and court rulings to topple Shinawatra-backed governments...

 

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https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/shinawatra-parties-rally-across-thailand-crucial-court-ruling-looms/

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That fucking crap about the "royalist elite" again. I remember some of those "royalist elite" from the protests a few years ago.  They included the charwomen from my university, everyone of whom was an Issan farm girl but marched against Takky all the same, plus many taxi drivers and other ordinary people who were disgusted by Thaksin's perceived disrespect to the late King.  But group think is the rule these days. Somebody once upon a time came up with "royalist elite", and it was such a cool sounding term that Farang "journalists"  latched onto it and use it whenever they can. The fact is the Shinwatras see themselves as "elite" and have rallied such shining lights as Chalerm Yubamrung and his sons to their banner. Understanding Thai politics is so much easier, once you simplify everything to the Shinwatra "proles" (many of whom are very wealthy) versus the "royalist elite" (most of whom are quite poor).

 

 

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Even many of the PheuThaksin voters don't really like Takky. But as a taxi driver told me, "There are many bad things about Thaksin, but he did more for us than the other politicians." They expect Nirvana to happen when he makes his second coming.

In reality, Abhisit and the Dems gave the people free schools from kindergarten to the 12th grade, plus the 50-baht medical treatment and the Skytrain. But somehow the Takkyites have managed to convince many of the proles that Takky  did these. The Democrats really need to work on their PR. 

 

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