The Bangkok Podcast | Expat Life In Thailand Via Expats From Canada & America

In this show, Ed does his best to summarize the Thai political parties contesting the upcoming elections, as well as their various policy positions. As an overview, Ed notes a couple general themes. One is the possible return to power of the Pheu Thai party, the heir to the previous Thai Rak Thai party and Shinawatra clan. Thai people are not entirely sure whether they want to fully turn the page on the previous era in Thai politics, and this election will do a lot to settle this issue. Second, the populist handouts made famous (some would say infamous) by the Thai Rak Thai party are now practiced essentially universally by all parties, although the nature and extent of the ‘benefits’ may differ. A winning electoral strategy (however ‘infamous’) IS in fact a winning strategy, and none of the major parties have been able to resist the allure of easy promises.  Ed then does a quick run through of the six biggest parties in Thailand. Three parties can be said to represent the Thai establishment. The United Thai