February 2001
Supachai's Asian history lessons
In a wide-ranging interview, Supachai Panitchpakdi, Thailand's deputy prime minister and director-general-elect of the WTO, talks about the successes and failures of government strategy in bringing Thailand out of the 1997-98 Asian crisis and assesses the prospects for a successful continuation of the work of the WTO
His majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand,
demonstrated that he keeps a close finger on his country's
political pulse - perhaps a more effective one than his ministers -
when he delivered his birthday message in December, just a month
before general elections. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Thailand's
outgoing deputy prime minister and economic supremo, recalls: "His
Majesty talked of the WTO [World Trade Organization] and the need
for more communication with the public, so that they can understand
how free trade can serve the interests of the people and how they
can avoid being exploited by other countries. I have taken this
[message] to my heart."
The warning was timely, but came too late for the government, which
was unceremoniously defeated and dumped at the January elections.
The aptly named Thai Rak Thai (Thais love Thais) Party, founded
less than two years ago by former police colonel and
telecommunications billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, won a...
This is archived content. Your current settings does not currently allow access to the archive. To gain access visit the subscription page or call our hotline on +44 (0)207 779 8999.
If you are a trialist or subscriber, please enter your username and password at the top right-hand side of euromoney.com
Subscribers to Euromoney benefit from:
Level 1:
- Online access to the past 12 months content
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Level 2:
- Exclusive access to euromoney.com - Read the latest issue early online, search for specific developments by region or sector, interrogate the results of Euromoney's benchmark polls, and view the archive dating back to 2000
- 12 monthly issues of Euromoney magazine
- More than 30 specialist research guides free
- The results of Euromoney’s polls and surveys
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Click here to subscribe