You get what you deserve

When she introduced her policies to Parliament after taking office, PM Yingluck was roundly criticised for having only short-run policies, nothing to indicate where she intended to take us in the longer term.

To me, she is proof that when Thomas Carlyle said, "No man sees far, the most see no farther than their noses", he was thinking of her and her Cabinet. For example, take the July 5 Bangchak Petroleum refinery explosion and fire in its distillation unit, causing an estimated Bt600 million in damage. Energy Minister Arak Chonlatanon quickly ruled out any plans to relocate the refinery, despite this being the second fire at the complex within two years, because relocation could cost Bt100 billion.

Where is your long-term vision, Mr Minister? There are 10,000 communities in the immediate vicinity. Industry Minister MR Pongvas Svasti recognises that in the long term, refineries should be moved away from crowded communities for their safety - but Energy Minister Arak shows no sign of having such common-sense knowledge, to your detriment and mine.

For their part, the Democrats haven't offered a viable alternative, for during their years at the helm, they didn't present any plans to move the refinery out of Bangkok - nor, seeing their opponents' present fumbling, have they been able to present anything better.

We get the government we deserve. Why should politicians give us anything better than the minimum you and I are willing to accept? Until you, sir and madam, demand to know their vision, their long-term goals, we'll get leaders who see no further than their noses.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok