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Mostly, people in the North and Northeast base their decision-making on their closeness to the candidates and belief in their promises.

They should not be blamed. If you see their actual conditions, you would know why they prefer the patronage system and do not think much about political stability.

Certainly, this philosophy applies to voters in other regions, including Bangkok.

Thinking harder are voters who know that these men will have a say in the formation of a government. The winning parties will nominate the "best and brightest" to the Cabinet to spend tax money - all that loot the government squeezes from taxpayers - in a wise way.

We are lucky to have Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej in office. He really knows how to handle taxpayers' money.

Yesterday, he proposed a referendum on the draft charter amendments. Pending Cabinet's approval, the process would require a cool Bt2 billion.

According to Samak, if the majority of Thais endorse the amendments, this should quash criticism from opponents. And then the Kingdom should return to peaceful harmony and move forward again.

Nobody can say that he is alone in wasting public money, as the Surayud government also resorted to a similar scheme when the Constitution BE 2550 was drafted amid criticism from opponents. A referendum was called then, and about Bt2 billion was spent. The political feud subsided, though briefly. The vision was that Thailand would move forward when the opposite side was defeated, at a price tag of Bt2 billion.

If the Cabinet approves Samak's proposal, we will be promised a brighter political outlook.Business and public can hope to get state assistance in tackling problems. That's a simple assumption: now that the government is freed from criticism, Cabinet members should have time to start to serve .Voters in general would also be freed from any difficulty in choosing whom to vote for in the general election. It doesn't matter, right, when divided opinions break out, since a referendum can be called and we will go to the polling booths to cast votes.

Ah, free at last!