By not ruling out the possibility that he will stay on longer in politics after the election next year, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has given the nation an uncertain future.The prime minister told the media on Wednesday there were many more people suitable for the premiership, but "if you cannot really find any good one, then come to discuss that with me".
In fact, such a statement hardly comes as a surprise to political pundits who, from the day the military seized power in the May 22 coup under the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), predicted the coup makers would be in charge for years to come. The regime's roadmap that aims to reinstate democracy has been extended accordingly. The earliest date for the election is proposed for Dec 10 next year.
The prime minister's statement coincides with a move by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) under legal guru Meechai Ruchupan to reinterpret the constitution that sailed through in the Aug 7 referendum. Today, the CDC is to talk with the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on how to incorporate the extra question, which was also approved in the referendum, into the country's supreme law.
The move has caused wide concerns among anti-charter critics given rumours that some factions in the CDC may seek to alter the supreme law in order to bypass the House's role in nominating a prime minister from political parties' prepared PM nomination lists in accordance with Section 272.
This would open the way for the military-appointed Senate to pick a prime minister, almost certainly a non-elected one, in the first joint parliamentary meeting.
Although Mr Meechai said previously that he would like to see the original Section 272 intact, there is no guarantee it will remain unchanged.
Critics have every reason to be concerned regarding a plan by pro-coup former senator and member of the defunct National Reform Council, Paiboon Nititawan, to set up a political party. Mr Paiboon does not shy away from saying his party would support Gen Prayut should he want to remain in politics.
Such a move, if successful, would be a total breach of the people's faith. It is also against the spirit of the charter that has just been approved in the Aug 7 referendum. Even though the endorsed charter has a clause that opens the way for a non-elected prime minister, such an option should emerge only under special circumstances.
The CDC and the NLA, together with the National Reform Steering Assembly, which are to meet today should understand the public's thirst for democracy in the post-referendum era. After two years under military rule, the public's quest for democracy is understandable. Any move that will compromise the principles of democracy should be avoided, or the country will land in political trouble.
Needless to say, political uncertainty is not healthy in any given context. The prime minister, if uninterested in politics, should make it clear that he will steer clear. As the country's leader, Gen Prayut, as well as his comrades in the NCPO, should do whatever he can to ensure our democracy is up to international standards.
But if the prime minister is overwhelmed with the referendum result and wants to change his mind by getting involved in the dirty game of politics, he should follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and coup maker Sonthi Boonyaratglin, by either joining or setting up a political party.
And enter the political game gracefully.