In the lead-up to the 2023 general election, the Pheu Thai Party had campaigned on the slogan kid yai, tum pen, pheu Thai took khon. The official translation of this slogan was think big, act smart, for all Thais. 

We have an abundance of evidence now that Pheu Thai and its predecessors were capable of thinking big. This is not a party for the timid policymaker. Thaksin virtually invented the playbook of economic populism in Thailand, and universal healthcare was realized under Thai Rak Thai, after all. But whether the party is acting smart, currently, is much more open for debate.

The major point of contention? Pheu Thai’s policy to hand out 10,000 baht to every person in Thailand above the age of 16. The backlash in which this promise has evoked is ferocious. Deservedly so. It is an ill-considered policy that has all the potential of becoming an unmitigated disaster. 

Click here to read the full piece at Thai Enquirer.