Poll boycott threatens to polarize Thai society

from The Nation:

the telecom tycoon-turned-politician is the embodiment of the worst possible malady that could afflict a fledgling democracy like Thailand. An autocratic leader who bankrolled his way to the highest political office by pandering to the unprincipled wants and needs of the attention-deficient, politically apathetic masses, who then proceeded to maximise personal gain at the expense of public interest.

The Thai middle class were mostly asleep at the wheel during the last election but now it is becoming very much en vogue to blame the rural poor for supporting Thaksin. While it is true that the mentality of country bumpkins has always acted as a brake on Thailand's development, what has the childlike and greedy Thai middle class done to encourage a renaissance in the provinces? Without education and sustainable income it is ridiculous to expect these people to evolve. But Bangkok office workers just want cheap rice. So now they might have to deal with farmers marching on Bangkok in support of the only prime minister who has ever done anything for them.