Re: "60 days 'long enough' for campaigning", (BP, Nov 10).
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon insists that 60 days is enough for election campaigning after the ban on political activities is lifted.
If democracy is "government of the people, by the people, and for the people", as Abraham Lincoln defined it, then 60 days is nowhere near enough for campaigning.
The junta's ban is on all political activities, not just campaigning. Before a party can even come up with its platform, it must engage in many now-banned activities, for example, holding nationwide meetings of its membership to determine what they, the constituents, want from their party -- especially since almost all parties are brand-new.
Members from one region may have different needs from their compatriots elsewhere.
These differences must be discussed at length and harmonised.
Even for old parties, constituent needs change as circumstances change, for example, a core plank for the US's GOP has been free trade for decades, but Mr Trump has been hurling tariffs left, right, and centre.
Then, party delegates must meet and, through time-consuming negotiations, forge a party platform that defines who they are and why voters should select them above all others.
Only after they have a well-hashed-out platform appealing to a sufficiently wide segment of voters should parties go on the campaign path -- and even so, 60 days isn't enough for nationwide campaigns.
Thus, the junta should lift the ban on political activities now, empowering parties to accurately reflect their members' well-hammered-out long-term needs and wants through extensive discussions, leading to stable constituencies who stay with their party through thick and thin, giving us a stable government.
Burin Kantabutra
Plan is too costly
Re: "City to revive 'Venice of the East' through new boat lines", (BP, Nov 11).
The development of 15 kilometres of existing Bangkok canals to serve as water transport routes will cost the government 473 million baht, according the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) proposal.
That amounts to more than 31,533 baht per metre! Now we know what the BMA stands for: "beyond mere accounting".
In concert with the national government, Bangkok should be able to dredge and maintain hundreds of kilometres of canals for modern, safe, and non-polluting private/public transportation operators at a fraction of the cost that the train systems require. It would be money well spent.
Michael Setter
Get priorities right
Re: " 'Blue Ripples' won't win 2020 polls", (Opinion, Nov 9).
Nicholas Kristof's post-election article is the best assessment I've seen so far on what it will take to unseat US President Donald Trump in the 2020 elections. If Democrats want to retake the White House, they need to realise that presidential elections are won and lost in America's heartland.
Liberal social policies are fine up to a point, but the average moderate voter in Ohio or Iowa, for example, doesn't put LGBT rights or transgender toilets at the top of their issues list. Certainly, most don't favour the complete abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, as some Democrats advocate. In general, they don't support a broad socialist agenda.
What voters in these areas do care about is a workable health-care system, opportunities to make a decent living (without having to work two or three jobs to make ends meet), affordable education, a revenue structure that fairly taxes both the rich and the middle class, roads without potholes, international trade that benefits Americans, a strong military, good relations with neighbouring countries and allies, responsible gun ownership, protections of air and water quality, and (yes) sensible immigration.
When Democrats learn to articulate these values in ways that resonate with moderate voters in America's heartland, there will be a true "Blue Wave," including the election of a Democratic president. If they fail to address these matters of concern to average Americans, the world will undoubtedly have to gird for a second term for Donald Trump.
Samanea Saman
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