• 
• 

Suchart was apparently handpicked to take charge at the ministry after the top boss of the People Power Party fell out with Surapong Suebwonglee. Political pundits expect Somchai's Cabinet to last only a couple of months. But Suchart will have no excuse if he fails to perform his duty in dealing with the fallout from the US financial meltdown. Suchart, however, is not known as a man of prudence, an essential quality for anyone in charge of national finances at the moment. At present, it seems like the impact from the US financial chaos will be minimal, thanks to a decade of tighter supervisions after the financial crisis of 1997.

When Suchart was deputy finance minister, he waged war with Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase. Suchart attacked the central bank's prudent monetary policy. The central bank wanted to ensure monetary stability while Suchart wanted the central bank to reduce interest rates to promote economic growth. As things stand now, the central bank seems to have a sounder policy to withstand the global turbulence. Suchart thus might learn a thing or two, which should be valuable for him in his new position as finance minister.

Suchart and the Somchai government will have to be cautious in implementing fiscal and monetary policy, even though a prudent policy might not attract voters. Suchart may be prepared to stay in office only a few months, but many things can happen in the financial world in such a short time span.

A small sign of misdirection in economic policy could create unforeseeable effects. The Thai financial economy needs strong economic oversight. Thus, Suchart cannot compromise on principles for political purposes.