Bangkok Post, Thailand, guest column.

Aug. 3--THAI POLITICS REMADE: Last week, in the second of three excerpts from "Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand", the authors examined the fundamental goals and potential risks of Thaksinomics.

Today's excerpt looks at how Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is remaking Thai politics.Once Thaksin Shinawatra and Thai Rak Thai understood the extent of their power created by the 1997 constitution, the 2001 election landslide, and Mr. Thaksin's personal popularity, they set out to overhaul Thailand's political system.

In speeches in 1998-99, Mr Thaksin identified three main problems. First, too many politicians treat politics as a career, as a way to make money. They invest money in gaining election, and then look for ways to profit through corruption. Second, the Thai bureaucracy is too powerful, too torpid and too ignorant of the business world. Third, both politicians and bureaucrats ...