Stormy weather ahead as ‘Orange tide’ washes over Pheu Thai
Can the traditional big political families turn Pheu Thai’s fortunes around in this era of declining old brands?
The battle for the presidency of the Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO) evolved into a national-level debate with notable figures like Thaksin Shinawatra and his children entering the fray to lend support.
Charn Puangpetch’s victory over Kamronwit Thoopkrachang has sparked much analysis and criticism, particularly regarding the future of the Pheu Thai Party.
A recent NIDA Poll revealed that the popularity ratings of Prime Minister Srettha and Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin's daughter, have been dropping continuously. Similarly, Pheu Thai is falling further behind the Move Forward Party.
In terms of political parties that the public would support today, Move Forward is leading with 49.20%, while Pheu Thai is in a distant second place with just 16.85%.
This is why Thaksin is reportedly preparing to visit Ubon Ratchathani, the stronghold of Kreing Kantinan, the Deputy Minister of Interior, and will also call on the Sasomsub family in Nakhon Pathom as part of his strategy to rely on big political families to counter the rising Orange tide of the Move Forward Party.
Charn Puangpetch’s victory reflects the power of the eight major political families in Pathum Thani, who united to defeat Kamronwit.
Even though Charn was wearing the Pheu Thai shirt and had Thaksin and the Shinawatra family campaigning for him, it did not significantly boost his popularity, as Thaksin's brand is no longer as powerful as it once was.
With Charn's campaign struggling against Kamronwit, the big political families in Pathum Thani were forced to employ all sorts of electoral strategies, eventually securing Charn his fourth term as PAO president.
Although many political science experts view that the era of big political families is over, the PAO election in Pathum Thani has left Pheu Thai's leaders hopeful that they still wield plenty of power.
Thaksin must therefore revert to the Thai Rak Thai Party strategy from the 2005 general election, which involved gathering and uniting the major political families under one roof.
The so-called “Pathum Thani Model” reflects a political society in which old brands are declining. Sometimes, the big family approach might be the answer, and this is why Pheu Thai is trying to use traditional politics to weather the Orange storm.
