Superman's job is easier than that of Abhisit

For instance, Chuan Leekpai, who was Thailand's prime minister for two terms, was criticised for his indecisiveness and slowness, but he was always lauded for putting the right man in the right job.

Looking back at prime ministers over the past few years, ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra could strike one as having strong leadership qualities. He always stepped up to deal with problems, and some even said he was a bit of an authoritarian.

Unfortunately, the incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is always compared with Thaksin. Dubbed "the baby boy" by Thaksin, Abhisit is, in fact, at a disadvantage in terms of age, experience and riches when compared to the former PM. So, no matter how much of a strong leader Abhisit is, he can never show more strength than Thaksin.

Still, there is a point of contention here. A Democrat minister, who is close to Abhisit, says a good leader does not always show his leadership qualities.

"The timing [to show leadership] is very important. If the PM is too bossy, nobody will want to work with him or help him," the minister said.

When comparing Abhisit with Thaksin, the minister said, the former PM had a greater advantage because he could buy loyalties with cash.

"It was a piece of cake for Thaksin if he needed to oust anyone. All he had to do was pay for it," the minister said.

In comparison, he said, Abhisit only showed his leadership when it was really necessary. He was referring to two incidents when the PM proved that he had the power to control the situation: the Songkran mayhem and the "virtual suspension" of national police chief General Patcharawat Wongsuwan.

Abhisit successfully took command of the Songkran chaos by showing his authority at emergency meetings with the military and police forces, whose "neutral gear" had allowed the red-shirt protesters to run riot in Pattaya and ruin the Asean summit.

With regard to Patcharawat, Abhisit proved that he was not his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban's puppet, the minister said.

However, some critics say Abhisit did not really handle Patcharawat's case too well, appearing almost reluctant to use his power. He did not dismiss or suspend the police chief, just gave him "virtual suspension" him by sending him off on a long holiday. Our Oxford-educated premier is not Donald Trump, and obviously the term "You're fired!" - one that made Trump's reality show "The Apprentice" so famous - does not easily trip off his tongue.

Perhaps, Abhisit prefers the non-confrontational style of management and maybe he realises the big consequences he'd have to face if he sacked the police chief. In this case, Abhisit showed his leadership by maintaining the stability of the coalition. If Abhisit sacked Patcharawat, who is the brother of Defence Minster Prawit, who is close to Newin Chidchob, there is a risk that Newin might pull his Bhum Jai Thai Party out of the coalition.

The 45-year-old prime minister may have realised that being a country's leader is not as easy as being Superman. Perhaps our PM would prefer to be Batman, because, after all, this superhero is really a human.

jintana@nationgroup.com

somroutai@nationgroup.com