Populism erodes Thailand's old order/
Colum Murphy
- 2009
The power brokers in Thailand does not lie with elected politicians but with the elite. This term is widely used but rarely defined. The elite seems so far to have successfully used the yellow shirt movement to counter Mr Thaksin populism. The reds are trying to play down the role of Mr Thaksin, whose support of the protesters from exile resulted in a huge loss of credibility. The yellows are stressing less the pro-monarchy aspects of the group. Both are taking up the banner of egalitarianism, political, economic and social.