The Politics of the Bangkok Banner

Being the Governor of Bangkok and pleasing everyone is an impossible task. Being a designer and pleasing everyone is an impossible task. Put the two together, and one wonders whether or not there is a mathematical equation to multiply impossible with impossible.

For years, looking up from the skywalk near Pathumwan intersection, you would see a crusty old banner saying “Bangkok: City of Life.” It had been designed under Governor Apirak Kosayodhin, who left office sixteen years ago. In between the text was a symbol inspired by the “lai pracham yam” Thai pattern. In the years since it was put up, the banner had turned increasingly faint and grey. But it also became a popular tourist destination, a place for Instagrammers from abroad to announce that they had reached the nation’s capital. 

At some point, however, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had to make a decision about what to do with the banner; it had deteriorated to the point where it was barely readable. The BMA had recently spent 3 million baht commissioning a new corporate identity for Bangkok. In came a new specifically-designed font, inspired by the writing of Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong, and a bold new color scheme. The city decided that this new brand identity would be put to good use to replace the old Bangkok banner. 

And so one day last week Governor Chadchart Sittipunt livestreamed himself in front of a bright, new green banner. Gone was the City of Life Slogan; the new banner merely said “Bangkok.” This was placed between geometric shapes representing the vatchara, the weapon wielded by the Hindu god Indra in the formal seal of Bangkok.

The new banner was polarizing, to say the least. But let us leave aside the subjectivity of aesthetics. This also became a story that encapsulated the dynamics of Bangkok’s local politics.

Chadchart had been accused by his opponents, throughout his tenure, of neglecting to build on the achievements of his predecessors. Why, the critics of the banner asked, did the BMA choose to completely uproot what has now become a popular tourist landmark? And, upon hearing that the city had spent three million baht on their new branding scheme, critics charged that the BMA had been wasteful.

The governor’s defenders, of course, see a different story. The new banner is modern and up to date, they said. It was money well spent: other cities around the world also have branding schemes, and this wasn’t just money invested in making a banner. This was evidence of consistent planning.

It reflects the deeper tensions that have bubbled throughout Chadchart’s tenure. To his critics, Chadchart is focused too much on style and substance, too much livestreaming and not enough governing. The big successes of Governor Asawin Kwanmuang now lay dormant, they say;  take the Khlong Ong Ang market, which Asawin had championed and Chadchart’s opponents say now feels dead. To his fans, Chadchart is bringing a new style of management: one focused not on the big projects of the past but on, in Chadchart’s own words, the “capillaries” (sen lued foi), the smaller projects dedicated to ordinary peoples’ livelihood. Was the over 400,000 issues resolved via Traffy Fondue, Bangkok’s issue reporting system, not evidence of this?

Since his thumping election win of “the land’s strongest candidate” seized Thailand’s imagination two years ago, the Bangkok banner change has probably been the single policy under Chadchart that has captured the most attention online. Countless memes have been made, transposing new text on the green background. But this is a shame. Instead of endless debate about the merits of fonts and colors, it would have been far better if so much attention had been focused on Chadchart’s mid-term report, which he had given on May 28th.

There, Chadchart had discussed the progress he has made on the over two hundred policies that he had campaigned on back in 2022: improved walkways, installing new lights, building more pocket parks, tackling local corruption, and so on. The governor personally awarded himself a grade of five out of ten for his performance so far, saying that ultimately it was for the people to decide. 

Bangkokians should take the governor up on his invitation to assess his tenure on its concrete merits beyond just city branding. With latest polling showing that 40 percent of the city’s residents still intend to vote for him if he runs again — down from the slightly over 50 percent he had won in 2022, but still almost likely a big enough portion to guarantee re-election — Chadchart’s governorship looks like it will continue on for many years yet. It is critical, therefore, for Bangkokians to continue to assess the governor’s priorities and whether or not he is meeting the key performance indicators that he has set out for himself in the form of his campaign promises.

Funnily enough, the Bangkok banner did remind residents of one work in progress of the Chadchart era. Getting in on the meme-creation festival that resulted from the banner, the BMA posted its own series of memes. One was the banner overlaid with new text: “We’ve now paid off our BTS debt.” The BTS Skytrain page reshared the post and said: “But not all of it yet!” Memes and performance assessment, it appears, can go together.

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