Election Date Announcement (ประกาศวันเลือกตั้ง)

The headline of this article by Matichon (progressive Thai newspaper) may be slightly misleading. This article points out that in a recent interview, the Thai prime minister stated that elections will progress as planned and the announcement of the date will be made next year. The article highlights that the deputy prime minister reiterated in another interview, like a sidekick/henchman, that it is the **announcement** that is guaranteed to take place next year, not the election itself as many incorrectly interpreted.

The article then takes a parody-like tone as the writer anticipates responses to potential followup questions, namely that the prime minister will get frustrated if anyone asks about the election date itself before going on to ask "what's the hurry? Elections will only lead to politicians throwing in money to get into power."

The interesting thing here is that after three years, figures in the current government are now treated like ridiculous caricatures by the media. Despite being a military junta, it is surprising that this is permitted as it stands in stark contrast to the draconian Lese Majeste law that censures the same for the monarchy.

The article ends on a satirical note with a response to the question of why we should bother with elections. The writer notes that "while there may be many who enjoy non-elective democracy, there are others who prefer the elective kind. We'll find out which camp contains more people after the election date has been announced." This actually ties nicely with the 'Culture is Destiny' reading from this week that explores the synthesis of Western democracy with Eastern culture. We should keep in mind that Matichon is a relatively progressive newspaper and that while it mentions those who enjoy 'non-elective democracy' with a sarcastic tone, this group's existence is very much real.