Thailand chooses young novice as new PM

Thailand’s Prime Minister Sretta Sthavisin had to step down because the Constitutional Court had found that he violated the moral code by appointing a person who had been in prison for contempt of court charge. And Thailand elected a new president, and unsurprisingly made former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s 37-year-old daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the PM.

Paetongtarn is a complete novice because she had not held any political office until now. Shinawatra’s party, the Pheu Party, managed to persuade others in the ruling coalition to vote for Paetongtarn, and there was no other candidate.

The main opposition party, which had reconstituted itself under the new label of Democracy Party, had voted against Shinawatra. The question is whether the novice prime minister will rise to the occasion to deal with the many existential challenges facing Thailand. The country is experiencing economic volatility, and no government has a magic answer to deal with it.

This is likely to enrage people and this could force the army to intervene. The army is standing in the shadows, only too ready to take over the reins of the government. With a new prime minister at the head of the government, and a party leading the opposition, politics in Thailand appears to be on the edge even as the Constitution Court keeps a strict vigil over the political players.

Thailand has been alternating between a democratic government and an army-led one. Whenever the army felt corruption was on the rise in the political class then it would intervene. But the army felt the need to hold elections and bring democracy back.

Thaksin Shinawatra had been strongly critical of the army’s role in the country’s democratic setup, but he fell through his own cavalier manner of playing the political game. The people had supported Thaksin, and it is his popularity that makes the army and the monarchy beware of his standing. The Thaksin Shinawatra family have created a political dynasty of their own, and the family is able to garner the votes from the people.

So there is a real contest between the people and the conservative elements surrounding the monarch. The people seem not to hesitate in electing a Shinawatra family member and even accept her as prime minister. The army in the manner of a Praetorian Guard is there to defend monarchy and come down heavily on the civilian establishment for corruption and other acts of omission and commission.

Surprisingly, despite the internal political tumult on the domestic front, Thailand has remained a stable force in the Association of South-Eastern Nations (ASEAN), and not let its internal political stress affect its foreign policy stand. Thailand has been dealing with political and security crisis inside Myanmar, and it has moulded ASEAN’s Myanmar policy to a great extent. Bangkok has been toeing a pragmatic line of trying to bring the Myanmar ruling junta and the political opposition together for talks. It is indeed laudable that Thailand is able to play a positive role despite its internal problems.

The other impressive aspect of Thailand is that the people have been fiercely fighting for democracy and standing up to the army. It is true that quite often the people had to retreat before they gathered force again and came back with renewed vigour to fight for democracy.

The tussle between the army and the people in Thailand has been intense and unrelenting. While the army can be said to stand for stability, the people are willing to take risks for the sake of a vibrant democracy. What we are witnessing now is a scene in the middle of unfolding action, and it is bound to change soon enough.