A must-read article from the Financial Times (不读不可这个金融时报的文章）

Thaksin's Thailand

Thaksin Shinawatra, the tycoon and Thai prime minister who prides himself on his decisive, "CEO-style" of government, was happy to bask in public adulation when times were good. Now that he is faced with a more sluggish economy and a host of political challenges, he has become curiously shy, resorting to astrological excuses about the inauspicious alignment of the planet Mercury to explain his low profile.

Mr Thaksin needs to get a grip - not on his country, which he has already tried to do with authoritarian measures to sideline his opponents and curb press freedom - but on himself.

It is no surprise that Mr Thaksin is shocked by the sudden decline in his political fortunes. Less than a year ago, he led his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party to an overwhelming election victory and began a second term of office, an unprecedented achievement for an elected Thai prime minister. Today, his opinion poll ratings are sharply lower. He faces a fledgling "yellow revolution" in the form of public protests by middle-class Thais, who have been galvanised by Sondhi Limthongkul, a media magnate and disaffected former ally of Mr Thaksin.

These challenges are not the result of bad luck, and they were not written in the stars. They are a demonstration of the inbuilt weakness of populist, authoritarian leadership: it works well when there is plenty of gravy to dole out to supporters - Mr Thaksin first took power as Thailand was recovering from the 1997-98 financial crisis - but the government rapidly loses legitimacy if the gravy stops flowing.

Mr Thaksin has goaded the middle class into protests by stifling the liberal media and failing to fulfil his promise to fight corruption. His hardline approach to Muslim militants in the south has alienated Muslims and done nothing to end the violence there. King Bhumibol Adulyadej made a rare intervention in politics this week and obliged Mr Thaksin to drop an array of lawsuits against Mr Sondhi.

Government plans to boost the economy by spending more than $40bn (£23bn) on infrastructure in the next four years have been hobbled by a shortage of funds, a problem worsened by last month's court order suspending the partial privatisation of Egat, the state electricity generating company. Some economists say real economic growth may stick at a modest 4-5 per cent annually over the next few years in the absence of an economic liberalisation programme more ambitious than Mr Thaksin seems ready to adopt.

Mr Thaksin need not despair. He has a strong mandate as elected prime minister. Although Mr Sondhi has called a big rally in Bangkok for tomorrow, he is not the obvious focus for a popular opposition movement strong enough to oust the government. The going may be tough, but Mr Thaksin's job is to lead as vigorously in hard times as he did in happier days. That is what chief executives are paid to do.

Published: December 8 2005 02:00 | Last updated: December 8 2005 02:00