Being a voter in Thailand is, at once, easy and difficult. It's easy because there is little to choose between the parties, which mostly parrot the same ideas, largely ripped off from Thaksin Shinawatra's ousted government. And it's difficult because finding a party that stands for a coherent idea of how to manage society for the greatest good is a lost cause. That's especially so when most are little more than clubs hoping to usher their patron into office.
Voters are now more likely than in the past to weigh the policies and plans of the parties and their politicians, measuring them against the yardstick of the former ruling party, Thai Rak Thai. By and large, it stuck to its campaign promises - a near-revolutionary moment in Thai politics.
That is a legacy of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai; it turned politics upside down with the idea of a clear, simple policy manifesto attuned to voters' concerns. Given that perhaps nine out of 10 voters are farmers - at least for part of the year - this produced policies such as affordable health care and village credit pools.
Voters' biggest concerns revolve around the economy which, were it not for booming exports, would almost certainly be in recession. Political turmoil has left people nervous, many are not spending as much as they might. Rising oil prices are stoking worries about wage packets and inflation. The ceaseless violence in southern Thailand is also on many minds.
Parties are mostly serving up the cold leftovers of Thai Rak Thai populism, spliced with homage to the principles of a 'sufficiency economy', developed and advocated by the revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej - who officially stays above politics.
Only the People's Power Party, the reincarnation of Thai Rak Thai, and the Democrats, a conservative party, have anything approaching coherent manifestos. But even they fall short, resorting to the abstract, and broad brushstrokes, where details are needed. Unsurprisingly, voter apathy is high.