"One time I went to a children's day fair and found myself sitting next to another politician. He was holding a stack of 100 baht notes to hand out to the children, while I had come empty-handed. How could I compete with that?"
Chutiphong Pipoppinyo was part of the "orange wave" of idealistic young candidates who stunned Thailand in the 2023 election by winning more seats for the progressive Move Forward party than any other party.
This year though, he lost his seat in his home province of Rayong to a rival from an old established family which has traditionally occupied positions of power there.
"In 2023 we were like a storm that swept through and the other parties weren't ready to fight back. They thought I was just a no-name candidate. The wave of support for Move Forward in the final stretch of that election really encouraged voters to try something new."
Now renamed the People's Party, their hopes that they would improve on their 2023 performance were dashed on the rocks of the old-style patronage networks which have dominated provincial politics in Thailand throughout its modern history.
