South-East Asia's Pakistan?

摘要

"We're not selling fish sauce, this is an election rally," jokes Sombat Ratano as he walks alongside his campaign truck with a microphone, hailing the voters of a rural village in Ubon Ratchath-ani province. In Isaan, Thailand's poor and populous north-east region, support is still strong for Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister deposed by a military coup in September 2006. Mr Sombat is a candidate in the December 23rd general election. He is standing for the People's Power Party (ppp), a reincarnation of Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (trt), which was disbanded after the coup. As he tours the village, he drops Mr Thaksin's name at every opportunity, promising to revive the policies-from cheap health care to farming loans-that made the former prime minister popular.