it is important to do this?

Veera Prateepchaikul is deputy editor-in-chief of Post Publishing Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat made a plea the day he led his new cabinet to Hua Hin to be sworn in by His Majesty the King. He wanted us, the general public, to give his ministers time to prove their worth. Simple though the request is, I find it hard to say: "Yes, your excellency. You can have all the time you need since you are so gentle, so accommodating." But for some very good reasons, I find it too much to be acceptable. Mean? Not really. The prime minister can afford to give his ministers the time they may need to go through a process of trial and error. But for us, time is a luxury that we can ill afford to give to the new administration. Not because it is seen as yet another proxy of the "Man in London", former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Many of the ministers are old faces in the Samak Sundaravej administration although, this time, some were assigned to take charge of different ministries. Therefore, they should be considered as having had some job experience, although they did not make any achievements of significance to brag about. As such, they should be able to start working immediately. For the new faces, they were so anxious to join the cabinet to the extent that some of them were more than willing to change sides and stab their colleagues in the back simply to get a piece of the cabinet cake. Ask Newin Chidchob, the influential leader of the Friends of Newin faction, he might tell you how it hurt to be double-crossed by his "friends". He might, by now, be licking his wounds and have learned the painful lesson that there are no real friends in gutter politics. These new faces should be treated as ready for their new jobs, although their qualifications are in doubt. There should be no excuse for on-the-job training. To most politicians, politics is all about give and take. Politicians who buy votes give out money to voters and, in return, get the ballots they want. Voters, meanwhile, are happy to be paid and willingly give their votes to the vote-buying politicians. Also, corrupt politicians receive kickbacks or commissions in return for lucrative contracts or concessions given to businessmen. What we, the public, are asking from Mr Somchai, and indeed his predecessor, Mr Samak, is: Give us a decent or feel-good cabinet that we can feel proud of and upon whom we can place our confidence and trust. Is that asking too much? But what have we been given by the incumbent premier or his predecessor? Nothing different. On top of his infamous foul mouth and abrasive manner, Mr Samak gave us his "ugly duckling" cabinet which, thank heavens, lasted only seven months. Otherwise, the country would have plunged deeper into the abyss. Although a new wording is yet to be coined to describe Mr Somchai's cabinet, it is hopeless and a total letdown, especially the new economic team. Our country is going through a very critical period with the worst political divide ever seen and an unprecedented global financial crisis whose real impact on the Thai economy is yet to be felt. Sick of the politics which are getting us nowhere, the people are desperate for a change, at least a change for a decent and credible cabinet which will make them feel good, even if they be nominees of the Man in London. Sadly though, this has not been delivered. As a lame duck prime minister, Mr Somchai has little authority to handpick his ministers. The real say is left with the influential faction leaders and Mr Thaksin, who has the final say. How laughable it is of the man who unashamedly and repeatedly said he has washed his hands of politics. If those in the new cabinet are the best-qualified Mr Somchai can deliver, he should not expect us to give him the support and the time for his ministers to prove their worth. As I mentioned earlier, politics is about give and take. He should have shown some decency by giving us a true favour which we would then be more than happy to return.