People Power Party leader Samak Sun-daravej must be made prime minister if the party gains the most seats, spokesman Kuthep Saikrachang said yesterday.
A poll sponsored by the party had suggested it would win 250 MP seats outside of the South.
"I assure you if People Power Party gets more votes and more seats than the others, we will be more eligible to form a government than any other party," Kuthep said.
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Samak also told the meeting not to be worried about former Thai Rak Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra being an adviser, as long as it did not violate the law and the Election Commission (EC) approves of it. The party could seek advice from Thaksin anyway, even if the EC did not approve, he said.
The party can launch campaigns but without using Thaksin's photographs, Kuthep said.
However, it would wait for the EC's regulations before revising its media campaign.
The party yesterday also announced 12 policies for its campaign platform, most of them borrowed from ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai party.
Deputy secretary-general Noppadon Pattama said the party would utilise and adapt the populist policies of the Thaksin government as well as improve on policies of the current administration.
Among the policies the party promises to implement if it wins the election are: no tax increases; a debt moratorium for farmers; further development of the Village Fund; allocation of the Small Medium Large fund (Bt300,000, Bt500,000, Bt700,000), implement the second stage of the One Tambon One Product project; set up a People Bank; increase capital for small- and medium-sized enterprises; distribute one million cattle to 100,000 farms; price guarantees for agricultural produce; allow people who find employment overseas to pay the job placement fee after starting work; and proceed with CEO-style provincial governors.
The party also promised to improve the Bt30-per-hospital-visit scheme by allowing people to use ID cards for any treatment, including emergency healthcare. Workers with social security will enjoy coverage for their families as well.
Students will be given educational loans that they can pay back after they get jobs, a project which would be funded by the two- and three-digit lottery. The party pledged to help teachers reduce their debts and give village heads the same healthcare coverage enjoyed by bureaucrats.
The party also promised to build proper roads connecting every village and to replace the dirt roads within four years. It also plans to establish centres to help vocational students start businesses and a new Thailand Knowledge Park project to develop online libraries.
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Full Story: The Nation
Thoughts: Samak is extremely right wing and was implicated in the 1976 Thammasat massacre, his adoption of Thaksin's populist policies today seems to be just a means to gain power. If this man gets in life for foreigners will go from bad to worse and looking at the above the Thais will get further into debt, as with TRT nothing has been said about the improvement of education standards, in my opinion one of the biggest problems this country faces.
More info on Samak can be found here:
http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala ... undaravej/
PPP to push for Samak as premier
PPP to push for Samak as premier
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
The way the CNS and the Election Commission are weighting the whole election process to benefit the Democrats, I don’t think the PPP have a cat in hell’s chance of getting into power.
However in the unlikely event they are successful I will get my partner to apply for one of the million free cattle. After hearing the many stories of falang buying buffaloes for their Issan girlfriends families it would be ironic if the Thai government gave me one back; I think I’ll call it Nigel Lawson!
However in the unlikely event they are successful I will get my partner to apply for one of the million free cattle. After hearing the many stories of falang buying buffaloes for their Issan girlfriends families it would be ironic if the Thai government gave me one back; I think I’ll call it Nigel Lawson!