Referendum a stall tactic as country slides downhill

Indeed, it was unusual for the prime minister to have booked a radio slot with the Public Relations Department at that early hour, given the fact that he can always speak publicly whenever he wants to and TV as well as radio stations would greet him enthusiastically.

In his radio address yesterday morning, Samak reiterated his will to stay on as prime minister and defend democracy till the end. Nobody can pressure him. This time round he tried to use a more amiable tone to calm the nerves of his audience.

Samak gave the same reason for his decision to stay on in his address on Sunday during the joint session of Senate and Parliament, which saw no resolution reached over how lawmakers might deal with the political crisis.

Known for being a great communicator, Samak did not want to use television to convey his message this time. He instead wanted to reach a broader mass of Thais living in the countryside. Radio was better suited to this purpose. He spoke simply in an attempt to appeal to the rural masses, hoping to rally their support of his premiership and his administration.

In the afternoon, he also went on a radio talk show hosted by Weera Thiraphat. Again, the prime minister hoped to reach his grass-roots audience, including taxi drivers and common people in the metropolitan areas.

Weera is a famous radio host, known for his hard-hitting comments and analysis. (You get the verbal equivalent of a slap in the face if you phone into his programme and ask a stupid question.)

Amidst all of this his Cabinet, which met at Army headquarters because Government House has been hijacked, approved to resolve the political crisis by holding a national referendum.

It is a stall tactic. To start with, it is funny that the Samak Cabinet plans to hold a referendum on whether Thais would prefer the Samak government to continue to run the country; or one asking them to choose between the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the Samak government.

A referendum should only be held on very hard and serious issues of critical importance to the future of the country, such as the approval or disapproval of a new constitution, or an issue such as whether Thailand should join in on a single Asian currency, for example. No country in the world holds a referendum involving an unregistered movement like the PAD, or one asking citizens whether or not they like their government.

Anyway, it serves to show the whole world that Samak is sticking to democratic principles in contrast to the mob rule at Government House.

Samak said protesters could continue to occupy Government House until the referendum is conducted. He would like the Council of State, the government's legal advisory body, to consider the possibility of the referendum.

The referendum law, which has passed the House of Representatives, is now with the Senate, which would seem to have to pass the law within 90 days for it to come into effect. So when will the referendum ever take place?

But more importantly, Samak's lip-service on the referendum is a response to Army chief General Anupong Paochinda, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and the public at large, who have been calling on him to resolve the political crisis via Parliament.

It's Samak saying: If you want Parliament to solve this issue, so be it - let's have a referendum.

In the meantime, Bangkok is in its fourth day under a state of emergency without any incidents but with growing signs of state failure. Thailand's credit is plummeting. The economy is heading toward disaster.