ABSTRACT
In the first general election under Thailand’s reformist 1997 Constitution, Thaksin Shinawatra led his newly founded Thai Rak Thai (Thai Love Thai, TRT) party to an unprecedented victory in January 2001. This was also the first election following the deep recession that began with the devaluation of the baht in July 1997. TRT ran a slick and well-financed campaign that the media cast as nationalist because its policy platform rejected the unpopular economic reform package brokered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). TRT was also seen as populist because it directed its major campaign promises to rural and poor voters. In victory, TRT promised a new era for Thailand, captured in its slogan that declared the party would think in new ways for all Thais.
