Taksin's victory may enhance Thai-Bangladesh interaction

Several factors are responsible for the easy win of the Thai Rak Thai party which bagged more than three fourth of the 500 seats at stake. A two third majority is often seen as a big win and here the scale of victory is even bigger. The main opposition Thai Democratic party had to remain content with only one fifth of the seats and other smaller groups cut a sorry figure. Indeed, the outcome is glorious for any sitting prime minister and one can look forward to political stability in the country since lack of required or sound majority in parliament often breeds political instability that in turn mounts pressure on the system resulting in the failure of performance by a government causing frustration of the electorate. Several south and southeast Asian nations having parliamentary democracy often experience this undesirable scenario. It is nice to see that the Thai electorate have given a very clear and decisive verdict for the prime minister's party reflecting their faith in the government. A good economy, efficient tackling of the difficult situation in the aftermath of the catastrophic Tsunami disaster and last but not the least prime minister's unambiguous pledge to work for poverty alleviation if elected for the second term were the main factors for the easy win. It remains to be seen how the government moves to fulfil the pledges made before the voting.

However, such a big win also raises concerns in certain quarters, who are apprehensive that the scale of victory may instill a sense of over-confidence that may not serve the aspirations of the people in the democratic set up and may in effect act negatively. He has already jettisoned ties with other partners of the ruling coalition and is charting a course of single party rule since Thai Rak Thai party needs no support from any other party for governance. Some analysts view this with some degree of alarm as they feel that the prime minister may use the overwhelming win for consolidating his grip in both party and government with a kind of authoritative tendency. However, Taksin, a former policeman and tycoon, said such fears are unfounded and stuck to his ground of single party rule since he says this will give more stability to the nation.

A disturbing feature of the outcome of the polls is the failure of the Thai Rak Thai (meaning Thais love Thais) to secure a single seat in four southern Muslim districts in stark contrast to other regions where things were too good for it. For instance, the party won 126 out of the total 136 in its stronghold northeast. The reasons for failure in the Muslim southern districts are not far to seek since certain actions of the government in dealing with the Muslim activists sparked controversy at both home and abroad particularly the deaths of big number of Muslims in the fasting month of Ramadhan when the security forces were quelling the Islamic demonstrators. However, the prime minister attributed this failure to "past mistakes" and long delay in settling the problems involving the Muslims in the south. Clashes between the Muslim militants and security force had left hundreds dead. Taksin said after the elections that local authorities in the south were not patient in dealing with the situation.

Whatever be his assessment of the situation there, the prime minister is expected to take note of the total lack of confidence in him in the southern Muslim dominated districts as reflected in the balloting. While Muslims in the region feel that the tough policy may continue, Taksin has dropped enough hints that he would seek to assuage the Muslim feelings as far as possible. Unquestionably, the big second term mandate for the prime minister needs to be greeted with hopes for continuing progress of Thailand and strengthening of its democratic institution. At the same time, one can rightly hope that the big win would not go into the head of those at the helm and the democratic spirit will be maintained notwithstanding the massive victory. More importantly and expectedly, the new government would take pragmatic policies in solving the unrest among Muslims in the south.

Thai business leaders, analysts and foreign investors have hailed Shinawatra's big win especially for nations's economy but some warned that a renewed mandate for "Thaksinomics" could backfire if his powers go unchecked. The onus will obviously be on the prime minister to allay such fears.

But Taksin Shinwatra's government can particularly be lauded for its keen interest in developing and expanding ties with south Asian nations like Bangladesh. During the last few years, closer links have developed between Bangladesh and Thailand and the interest of prime minister Shinawatra in this direction has been remarkably visible. Dhaka-Bangkok links have strengthened in different fields and Bangladesh nationals are visiting the country in big number because of trade, health, education and other necessities. Air links between the two countries also have expanded and new forms of interactions are in the offing too. Thailand is undoubtedly a success story in the southeast Asia for economic and social progress and the image has grown further under Taksin. Greater Dhaka-Bangkok cooperation can be of immense mutual benefits. Hopefully, this trend will continue under the new Thai government when Taksin remains in charge. New areas may be explored for bigger interactions both at bilateral and regional plane where Dhaka and Bangkok also play important role.

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is a senior journalist.