This demographic has a schizophrenic identity, stuck between the city and the countryside. But its numbers mean that its members ultimately determine the outcomes of Thai elections. The last decade and a half of dominance by pro-Thaksin parties was made possible by the former prime minister’s ability to appeal to these Thais—to empower them economically and speak to them as a fellow outsider with the same aspirations. Meanwhile the traditional elites, especially the Democrats, have treated these newly empowered provincial citizens with condescension of not outright derision.