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Published on November 20, 2007

So, under normal circumstances, they would look for the best in people and would not hesitate to condemn what they see as legally or morally wrong.

But election time always knocks the rationality out of Thai people. So the worst time to do opinion surveys about Thai people's attitudes toward politics is when politicians start knocking on their doors for their votes.

A few weeks ago, an Abac opinion poll found that 60 per cent of Thais are willing to trade their votes for money or other materials. What that means is that the majority of voters don't care whom they vote for as long as they get paid for it. Well, this shouldn't have come as a surprise in the first place, should it?

Then another survey a week later discovered that more than 53 per cent of Thais would tolerate a corrupt government as long as it delivers. It's obvious that Thais are taking corruption for granted. In their eyes, all politicians are bad. So why not settle for the more capable - and forget how corrupt they are? Again, no big surprise.

But it was the result of the third in the series of Abac opinion polls that really brought out a contradiction concerning Thai people, or should we say it reflected their pragmatism. More than 80 per cent said in the survey that they want the next prime minister to be an honest person.

Well, while we can always question the credibility of these polls, we still need to accept the fact that their results are not out of the ordinary or unexpected. Thais are pragmatic people and, for them, there is no one set of rules that can apply to all situations. Under normal circumstances if you were to ask any Thai whether he or she would vote for a corrupt politician, the answer would most likely be no. And it certainly doesn't escape them that election candidates who expend money would make bad politicians.

And no sane Thai would accept a government that is corrupt. Thais have always made known their yearning for a clean and efficient government. Thus, their preference for an honest prime minister.

So if something is to be blamed for Thai people's departure from good social and political principles, it's elections. This current election season in particular seems to have confused the Thai political psyche to an even greater degree following the country's experience with the unprecedented largesse doled out under the Thaksin administration. If anything, the "Thaksin effect" is definitely evident in the attitude of Thais expressed in these particular opinion polls.

Of course, they are many factors influencing voters' behaviour during election time. The temptation of material reward is often hard to resist and those living in poor and rural areas are most susceptible to politicians' sweet words coupled with financial incentives. And, unfortunately, these constituencies play a decisive role in determining the final outcome of the election. If the majority of voters say they have no second thought about exchanging their votes for money, it's a foregone conclusion which parties will dominate the field.

So the prospects of getting free handouts from politicians on the campaign trail and the hopes for a return of populist policies must cloud voters' normally sound judgement. Vote-buying might be the norm in every election, but this is the first time that the majority are openly confessing that they see nothing wrong with selling their votes.

And what does their expressed tolerance for corrupt - but presumably efficient - governments mean? It can either be taken as a show of disdain for politicians or an expression of the belief that honest and clean politicians make bad leaders. Of course, one cannot help drawing comparison between the Thaksin and Surayud governments. The former was known equally for its aggressive populist approach and massive corruption as well as conflicts of interest. The latter is noted for its clean image but poor performance.

The best we can hope for is that such attitudes toward politics are only seasonal. Once the election is over, they will return to their senses and again stick to their good traditional values. But the Thaksin effect may turn out to be more pervasive than we want to believe.

Nevertheless, these Abac polls can at least offer us one comfort. The majority of Thais still want their leader to be an honest person.

But they have yet to say how they can expect to see an honest political leader in power while they still vote for money and embrace a corrupt government.

Of course, they should know that money can't buy them honest politicians and corrupt governments don't produce honest leaders.

 Thepchai Yong

The Nation