The election of property tycoon Srettha Thavisin as Thailand’s 30th Prime Minister, while ending the political uncertainty that followed general elections last May, may not quite be what the doctor ordered for those Thais who were hoping to see radical changes in the way the country is governed. For one, it almost certainly means that amendments to lese majeste laws, promised by the Move Forward Party (MFP), which won the most seats but failed to secure enough support from MPs for its candidate, will no longer feature on the country’s agenda. It is also unlikely that campaign promises by prominent contenders, including by those of Mr Srettha’s Pheu Thai party, that the law would be amended to limit the role of the military in parliamentary functioning, will come to fruition.
The 250 senators nominated by the military play a pivotal role in choosing a Prime Minister, and in order to secure office Mr Srettha had to strike alliances with pro-military and royalist groups. In the event, despite his party having only 141 MPs, Mr Srettha secured the support of 482 MPs in the electoral college of 750. Of the 500 elected MPs, Mr Srettha had the support of 314, and needed at least 64 military-appointed Senators to vote for him; in the end, he got the support of more than two-thirds of the Senators. The outcome would thus suggest that the country’s establishment ~ comprising the palace and the military ~ has decided to mend fences with its one-time bête noire, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Pheu Thai’s founder, and has done so to ensure that the relative radicalism of the MFP does not upset the power structure. That behind the scenes maneuvering had taken place was also evident from the return of the exiled Mr. Thaksin to the country. He was immediately sent to prison for eight years on charges of abuse of power, malfeasance and corruption.
But he will be eligible to apply for a royal pardon within a day and should he do so, and should the pardon be granted, as is widely contemplated, the mechanics of Thailand’s transactional politics will be evident to the world. How Thailand’s restive population, especially those in urban centres such as Bangkok who voted overwhelmingly for the changes promised by the MFP, view these developments must remain a matter of concern. The country’s youth has taken to the streets often in recent years to seek change and appeared to have rallied behind MFP’s Pita Limjaroenrat in huge numbers in the election. This section of the populace ~ both vocal and energetic ~ is bound to feel cheated. But for now, Thailand has managed to find a way out of the political impasse that threatened to sharpen the cleavages in society, and even come up with a solution that appears democratic while keeping the powerful happy. That it is the result of backroom deals and only tangentially of the ballot box is neither here or there