Celebrity Politicians

[Pas]

I can't help to notice on the 2Bangkok front page today is the picture of three political posters:

http://www.2bangkok.com/gift01.jpg

In the middle there is the picture a famous Thai actor "Sam" aka Yuranan Pamonmontri who has appeared in many soap operas & host tv variety shows. Anyone has more details about his political campaign?
I'm curious when did Sam enter politic and how did he come to represent the Thai Rak Thai party??

Is Thai politic becoming more like the US or the Phillipines (sorry for the generalisation) with lots of actors becoming politicians. I mean political candidates here used to come from military backgrounds or beurocratic tradition. Now it seem we have moved away from that and more and more civilians or so called 'technocrats' are entering politics. This should be more encourage?

[The Enforcer!]

Originally posted by Hat-Yai Junc
In fairness, all the parties are the same.

I hope, for the sake of democracy, that you are wrong.

Although as Churchill said "democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

The Enforcer!

[ncr]

Originally posted by Pas
In the middle there is the picture a famous Thai actor "Sam" aka Yuranan Pamonmontri who has appeared in many soap operas & host tv variety shows. Anyone has more details about his political campaign?
I'm curious when did Sam enter politic and how did he come to represent the Thai Rak Thai party??

By the way, in an article in The Nation yesterday he was cited as TRT's "Deputy Spokesman"....!

Apart from that, I found some older articles on the Nation website by typing "Yuranan" in the search box. Apparently he was nominated in July 2004 to run for TRT in Bangkok constituency #11:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/sear...02499&usrsess=

[The Enforcer!]

Lot of sympathy with you Hat-Yai Junc.

In UK I was an elected councillor in a ward my colleague and I won from another party. Mid-term there was a by-election and we had a party celebrity thust on us (who later married the party Leader!) - result: she won but did absolutely nothing in the ward leaving me to do all the real work!!

The Enforcer!

[jpatokal]

At the 2Bangkok get-together, there was some talk about a model-like candidate for party #1. Putting two and two together, this can only refer to Chart Thai's Janista Liewchalermwong, aka Bam, who indeed was (and is?) a model before her political career. Some googled linkage:

http://www.thailandstar.com/Janista/Janista9.htm
http://www.thailandstar.com/Janista/Janista17.htm
http://www.thailandstar.com/Janista/Janista.htm

Still haven't seen any of her election posters though...? Her constituency is Don Muang.