Piyabutr Warns Against Showbiz Politics in People's Party
Piyabutr warned that the rise of showbiz‑driven politicians is eroding the ideological core of Thailand’s progressive parties. Drawing on the party’s evolution from Future Forward through Move Forward to the People's Party, he said parties must avoid becoming entertainment‑focused, hyper‑political, exposé‑driven, or purely digital. Without such safeguards, the dream of a strategic, mass‑based party guided by a clear ideology will be lost.
Piyabutr, secretary‑general of the Progressive Movement, posted on Facebook on 5 October 2069 outlining four things a party must never become. He said parties founded with a strategy to change Thailand, to be mass‑based, to have a guiding ideology, and to combine intellectual work (War of Position) with the pursuit of power are rare in Thailand — perhaps only the former Communist Party of Thailand ever tried to reach that ideal. Recalling the founding of Future Forward, he said he and his comrades hoped to build such a party, gradually cultivating members and developing it into that model. Today, as the party has moved from Future Forward to Move Forward and now to the People's Party, he still hopes to see that vision realized, but current market pressures push parties toward showbiz politics. Building a strategic, mass, ideological party is slow, unglamorous, behind‑the‑scenes work that often fails to attract broad audiences or media that favor quick, sensational content. He noted that politicians who blend party performance with slick modern media, clickbait tactics, and a flair for the spotlight gain popularity, leaving peers and leadership unable to control the party’s direction because they rely on those ratings and fear backlash if they criticize. To counter this trend, Piyabutr identified four obstacles that parties must avoid or manage carefully: 1. Politics as an 'Entertainocracy'; 2. Hyperpolitics, where everything is framed as political but produces no real change (an idea from Anton Jäger); 3. Daily exposé politics that lacks proposals for a new society or long‑term structural reform; and 4. The rise of the Digital Party and Hyperleadership (drawing on Paolo Gerbaudo). He said these trends appear in many countries and promised to explain each in further posts.
