• 
• 

Published on February 4, 2008

The Democrat Party's plan to set up a shadow cabinet to monitor the new People Power Party-led government's performance and to offer alternative policies sounds like a very good idea. Each member of the Cabinet will be shadowed by a senior Democrat with the relevant expertise for the portfolio concerned. As the only party in the opposition camp, the Democrats have the capability to more effectively scrutinise the six-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

The Democrat Party appears to have gathered a disproportionately larger pool of talent than the coalition. Its members offer more professional integrity and better track records than other political parties. This is due partly to the way the party is run, based on long-standing democratic principles.

The same cannot be said of all other political parties now sitting in the present House of Representatives. Most are run by autocratic party leaders and based on the corruption-prone power of patronage. In those parties, the leaders control the purse strings and brook no dissent.

The shadow-cabinet idea, if done right, can only strengthen the role of the legislature as a check on the executive branch of government. With their technical knowledge, the members of the shadow cabinet will be able to engage members of the Samak Cabinet in parliamentary debate on an equal footing, thus contributing to a higher quality of public discourse. Members of the mass media, civil society and the general public who follow House debates on the government's policies and performance can then make up their own minds as to which side they trust and want to believe.

It is also a good idea that each member of the Democrat shadow cabinet will make it a full-time job to monitor the counterpart Cabinet minister. This is the ideal way to scrutinise and offer constructive criticism. Each shadow-cabinet member can take the time to familiarise him- or herself with policy issues and problems at each particular ministry and master them. It may indeed be ideal preparation for a future shift in power.

With a shadow cabinet following their every move, members of the Samak Cabinet will be kept constantly on their toes, making it a lot more difficult for any abuse of authority or possible corruption to go unnoticed.

Besides this, assigning a specific lawmaker to monitor a Cabinet member will also enable would-be whistle-blowers within the state bureaucracy to make contact and pass on valuable information should abuse of power or corruption take place.

The incoming Samak Cabinet should demonstrate to the public that it is at least ready to work with the opposition in the people's best interests and willing to answer questions posed by the shadow Cabinet.

One clear benefit of the shadow cabinet is that the Democrat Party will have an opportunity to demonstrate to the public that while it is fully entitled to criticise the government when the latter fails, it is also capable of offering viable alternative solutions to problems under discussion.

In addition, the anticipated improved quality of debate in the House will also educate the public on how democracy works, how issues of importance can be solved, how national development strategies can be improved and how the government can be made accountable to the people it has promised to serve.

This is what normalisation of politics is all about. This is how democracy is supposed to be experienced.

It is a given that the main duty of the opposition is to find fault with the government, but being able to engage in constructive criticism will certainly improve its popularity in the eye of the public. It is clear that the Democrat Party has set its sights on improving its approval ratings between now and the next general election.

Apparently the Democrats have realised that a lot of people in this country are turned off by excessively adversarial politics in which parties competing for power do everything they can to destroy their opponents.

Taking a more reasoned and principled approach towards winning people's hearts and minds may be a more vote-winning idea in the next general election.

The Nation