Equally, Thais discouraged by last week's court verdict ought to balance their perspective by recognizing that their present leader has stepped forward with an idea of the future that takes Thailand far beyond any advanced by any of his predecessors.
Yes, many of his proposals have prompted controversy. They are too populist, many argue. The Thai Asset Management Corp, unveiled in late-June to manage the nation's lingering bad loans, has been justly criticized in its initial phase for benefiting state-owned banks far more than those in the private sector equally in need of relief.
But let's look beyond the short-term tactical kinks to the long-term strategic vision. At the core of Thaksin's thinking is a fundamental shift away from the East Asian export model we're all familiar with. The intent is to encourage small and medium size enterprises -- SMEs, a set of letters we'll be using a lot more often in Asia over coming years.
These companies are the replacement engines of Thaksin's "alternative development model," as Daniel Lian, economist with investment bank Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Singapore, calls it in a just-issued report. By using Thailand's "locally embedded skills" more thoughtfully, Lian argues, SMEs can keep the nation in the global game while leveraging it beyond the dead end of its present status as a low-wage export platform.
"Asia needs to either dismantle or reinvent the export model," Lian writes. "Thaksin's new economic paradigm could be an alternative to it." Understanding Mr Thaksin's New Development Model, as Lian titles the results of his research, is the most interesting take now available on one of the most interesting efforts in the region to break a pattern that, as Lian writes, "has outlived its usefulness."
Oddly for a piece of market analysis, it has as much to say to street-level activists in Bangkok as it does to foreign investors trying to comprehend a complex nation in transition.
Thaksin will now serve with a taint. It's unfortunate, but I doubt it will impair his long-term effectiveness as a leader -- which is something that can only now be proven.
"Forget the past, start the future," the prime minister urged after the court ruling was announced. I hope Thais reject that bit of euphoria-driven advice. How about, "Learn from the past and advance beyond it?"
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