Posted on 01/15/2006 10:56:23 PM PST by kingsurfer
Thailand's Prime Ministerial Reality Show hits the air THAKSIN TV
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is spending this week in a tent in one of the poorest provinces of Thailand in front of 40 cameras and 100 production crew. Cameras will be rolling 24 hours a day and the results will be shown on channel 16 all week. "Backstage Show: The Prime Minister'' is being filmed in Roi Et, 310 miles northeast of Bangkok. It is a rural area that has suffered from drought and diminishing crop returns. Thaksin's popularity ratings have been slipping recently, reaching a low of 58.2 percent in October, 2005 and this is an attempt to reverse these declining figures.
Thaksin explained this unprecedented move to the press saying, "I want officials to see and understand my way of thinking, analyzing, and deciding, and bring that knowledge to help solve the existing problems they face in solving poverty. No cosmetic work can be disguised from me. I will analyze all of the problems with the real situation and solve it to show all people nationwide.''
Under his leadership Thaksin has introduced several popular policies aimed directly at the rural population of Thailand who make up the majority of the country. A $2.3 billion fund was created to provide loans to the poor as well as expand the popular 30bt socialised Government medical scheme. Thaksin TV is being seen as a way of highlighting such policies.
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