Showing 41 - 50 of 101
Ensure fair wealth distribution
Editorial, Published on 16/07/2023
» Up until the pandemic, the economy was a reliable workhorse that delivered growth.
Turkey and its hundred-year culture war
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 12/05/2023
» Turkey's elections are fairly free, and there is going to be one this Sunday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power for two decades, and he should really lose by a landslide. Imagine what the United States would be like if Donald Trump had been in power for 20 years, and that's what Turkey looks like today.
Done and emerging battles in Thai poll
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 28/04/2023
» Thailand's poll-leading Pheu Thai Party (PTP) is fighting a war it has already won. Consequently, its pledged freebie of 10,000 baht in a digital wallet for Thai people is superfluous and unnecessary. As the populism war has run its course, a new battleground revolving around the reform and adjustment of traditional centres of power is emerging. The fight in this new battle, being led by the Move Forward Party (MFP), is likely to last into the foreseeable future as the next stage in Thailand's modernisation imperative in the 21st century.
Populism triumphs as election looms
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/03/2023
» Although the campaign season for Thailand's much-anticipated election has only just begun, populism has already become the runaway winner. All of the contesting parties have come up with a plethora of populist pledges to woo voters. That populism has triumphed in Thai politics bears multiple longer-term implications.
Earthquakes, Turkish politics and culpability
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 15/02/2023
» If you are trying to dodge the blame for a great disaster, the best policy is to say that it was God's will. So Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visiting one of the 6,000 buildings that collapsed on their sleeping residents in eastern Turkey last week, said: "Such things have always happened. It's part of Destiny's plan."
Old, poor and unemployable
News, Editorial, Published on 12/02/2023
» When it comes to demographics, it is no secret that Thailand is quite an anomaly.
Japan is facing a fiscal dilemma
News, Takatoshi Ito, Published on 06/02/2023
» Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently unveiled an ambitious plan to double the country's defence budget to ¥43 trillion, roughly 2% of Japan's GDP, over the next five years. Notably, the country's massive rearmament programme, its biggest since the end of World War II, has not triggered a political or public backlash. With Japan facing multiple security threats, including North Korean missile tests, Chinese coast-guard ships encroaching on its territorial waters and Russia's militarisation of the disputed Kuril Islands (known in Japan as the Northern Territories), polls show public support for the proposed increase.
Put an end to 'feel-good' populist policies
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 17/12/2022
» With a tight election race coming, some political parties have rolled out populist policies to entice voters, hoping for a big victory. However, we all know those populist schemes require massive amounts of money, and not many have tangible benefits. It's safe to say that most, if not all, parties simply want to win the election at all costs.
Is Japan now facing its own Liz Truss moment?
Oped, Takatoshi Ito, Published on 25/11/2022
» Former British PM Liz Truss's disastrous mini-budget, which crashed the pound and ended her tenure after just 44 days, has quickly become a cautionary tale for policymakers around the world as they debate how to spur economic growth and address rising inflation. But some national leaders, such as Japan's, have not heeded the warning.
Land solution
Oped, Postbag, Published on 10/11/2022
» Re: "Govt bows to pressure on foreign land buyers", (BP, Nov 9).