Thailand: Yingluck

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, 5 years in exile in Dubai, has entrusted his youngest sister Yingluck Shinawatra to lead the Pheu Thai party to victory for the Thailand people on July 3rd!

Promises of financial relief:

Ms. Yingluck’s stump speech consists of a series of applause lines emphasizing the populist programs that earned Mr. Thaksin the devotion of the country’s poor: cheap health care, a debt moratorium, a minimum wage increase, a price guarantee for rice, funds for village governments, welfare for the elderly and special credit cards to reduce costs for farmers.

“Not only lowering the cost of living, but putting money in your pocket — that’s what Pheu Thai will do,” she told the crowd here in Nakhon Phanom last week. “Do you like our policies?”

The incumbent Democrat Party is fighting back with promises of its own, including a 25 percent increase in the minimum wage.

Tempered by the Central Bank:

The central bank has warned that the expensive populism of both parties could strain the economy and spur inflation.

But what about all them goodies?