Big economic tests for PM bred to rule

Abhisit brings a youthful image and hope to the political scene, which has been in turmoil for the past three years. The challenge facing Abhisit is enormous. With the bitter political and social divide, he will have to adopt a more reconciliatory tone to bring Thais together again.

He has spelt out his goals. First, he wants to defend the monarchy from any slanting or misunderstanding. Second, he wants to lead an economic recovery. Third, he will try to work on national reconciliation. And finally, he will seek to restore international confidence in Thailand.

The first task is important because there has been a systematic campaign to undermine confidence in the monarchy in order to divert attention from the political malaise. More than 400 websites with indecent or anti-monarchy content were closed down or had access to them blocked by the Information and Communications Technology Ministry in September alone.

The political goal will always be tough. Political stability cannot be taken for granted. Some have predicted Abhisit's government might only last six months because political accidents can happen any time.

The red-shirt army is preparing to undermine his government in the same way the People's Alliance for Democracy protested against the People Power-led government.

The Thai economy is weakening going into 2009. And the world economy is in bad shape, aggravated by the financial crisis in the United States and Europe. Thai exports will be hard pressed. Unemployment will rise. Tourism has taken a bad hit. Agricultural prices have already collapsed.

Abhisit will have no time to waste. He will have to assemble a good economic team to tackle the economic weakness as quickly as possible. The most effective way to stimulate the economy is to spend government money directly into the economy to create jobs and rejuvenate activity.

Working toward national reconciliation will not be easy, as the wounds are so deep. Abhisit will need to have a dialogue with rural voters in the North and Northeast, the traditional base of the defunct People Power Party. Communicating with the Thai people will be one of his most important jobs, if the country is to achieve reconciliation.

Restoring confidence among the international community is equally important. Foreigners and foreign governments do not understand the complex political situation in Thailand. They need to be informed about what has gone wrong here and how the country will seek to correct its course.

Abhisit will have a chance to shine at the Asean Summit, which has been rescheduled for February. That will be a good platform for him to meet other regional leaders and explain Thailand's status.

Unlike most politicians, he does not have business connections or vested interests he needs to protect. If he surrounds himself with capable people, who give him the best advice, all he needs to do is to make decisions. He will make some errors and some good decisions. But if he serves his premiership honestly, the Thai people will give him a chance.

Abhisit has nothing before him except to serve the Thai public. This call is a noble one, and he has been raised to do this.

Korn Chatikavanij has also been raised in this tradition. Once he made it in the financial world, he retired and entered politics. Korn said his family had taught him that once he enjoyed success in the society that nourished him, he should return the favour to society.

This sense of noble obligation in public policy is so lacking among Thai politicians, who mostly enter politics in order to seek power, money, fame, and business networks and connections. Few Thai politicians engage in political discourse about the soundness of public policy.

Abhisit's rise to power is another accident in Thai politics, coming after two predecessors lost power in a hurry - in less than one year.

Judicial reviews have met the mark. The message is clear: If politicians believe they can continue to buy votes, the axe will fall on their parties. Thailand's rule-of-law system is up and running after years of rusty negligence.

Abhisit should use this rare opportunity to set a high standard of political governance for his administration. Looking at the coalition partners and politics as we know it, there is not much hope on this front. But it is a challenge. It is time to make history.