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| Comparing PMs |
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There are quite a few differences between Gen Surayud Chulanont, the 24th prime minister, and Thaksin Shinawatra, the 23rd prime minister of the Kingdom of Thailand:
1. Surayud became full general in his military career, while Thaksin left his police career as a lieutenant colonel.
2. Surayud rose through the ranks in the special warfare forces, while Thaksin in his police career was known as doing “special business”. He later entered the telecom business and made extraordinary profits.
3. Before becoming prime minister, Surayud was a member of the Privy Council, while Thaksin was a telecom concessionaire.
4. Surayud is an appointed prime minister, while Thaksin was an elected prime minister through political mergers and acquisitions.
5. Thaksin and his wife like to frequent Starbucks and go shopping at the Emporium or Siam Paragon, while Surayud likes to go trekking in the jungle to appreciate nature.
6. Thaksin looked upon himself as a CEO and his Cabinet had a corrupted but cando image. Surayud wants to emphasise government in his running of the country.
7. Thaksin aimed for high GDP growth, high domestic consumption, material gains and high debt. But Surayud wants to measure the success of his government with the Happiness Index and by the successful implementation of sufficiency economy.
8. Thaksin destroyed the Constitution until only its form was left and the real substance had all gone. Surayud will have to lay the groundwork for a new Constitution.
9. Thaksin came to power in 2001, when Thailand was still reeling under the economic crisis and had to cope with globalisation. He instilled nationalism in the Thai populace and successfully took over the country. Surayud has come to power when Thailand is facing a bitter political divide.
10. Thaksin was prime minister for five years, while Surayud will serve for only one year.
11. Thaksin was accused of trusting Thai, Khmer and Burmese astrologers as much as he did scientific polls. Surayud is a staunch believer in the essence of Buddhism. He entered monkhood after retiring from military service.
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