Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has a dream: the dream of a chosen one who thinks he can convince all of the key players of Thailand’s protracted political stalemate to put the country’s interests first and come to the negotiating table.
He believes he is that chosen one.
Of late, a group of retired generals and senior technocrats, led by former supreme commander Gen Saiyud Kerdphol, have come up with a proposal for a non-elected, non-partisan prime minister to be appointed by His Majesty the King. This would be needed to fill the political void in case the entire cabinet is forced to leave office along with caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
This could happen if she is found guilty by the Constitutional Court of misuse of authority concerning the removal of Thawil Pliensri as secretary-general of the National Security Council two years ago.
The group approached Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda to convey their proposal to the King. Gen Saiyud claimed Gen Prem agreed to accept the role.
But the group’s proposal for an appointed interim prime minister has been rejected by all the key players in the conflict — the government, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) and the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
Instead, the government itself — in case the cabinet is to be rendered dysfunctional by the court — has been pondering the idea of invoking Article 7 of the constitution to seek advice from HM the King for a way out of the impasse.
Mr Abhisit’s idea does not involve the monarchy. With his office and public interest paramount, he is offering himself as a “middleman” as he sells his plan to the key political stakeholders.
His plan is simple and easy to understand. It says all attempts to resolve the conflict must involve reform which should be the long-term solution, and for reform to proceed, all sides must overcome arguments over whether reform should take place before or after the election, and recognise that an election is part of the reform process.
Simple, yes. But it is easier said than done. The government, or the Pheu Thai Party, has insisted all along that an election must be held first and reform undertaken afterward, although it concurred with entering into an agreement on what needs to be reformed before the poll.
The PDRC backs reform before a poll. PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban announced on Saturday night at the Lumpini protest site that the PDRC would boycott the next election and might again try to block the election. “Imagine if all the ballot boxes went missing, even if candidacy registration can be done by mail or through the internet,” he said.
But the PDRC’s immediate objective is to eliminate the Thaksin regime and its influence — a vital issue which Mr Suthep announced is non-negotiable.
Mr Suthep scoffed at Mr Abhisit’s role as “middleman”, saying: “The great mass of people want reform before the election. Therefore, anyone who attempts to portray himself as a middleman to try to negotiate, whether he or she is a person I know, used to work with or used to be close to — do not interfere.”
He went on: “There is no longer Suthep who has played politics for 36 years. Today I am just Kamnan Suthep, a medium of the great mass of people. Hence, I listen to no one except them.”
Although his plan has only a slim chance of success, Mr Abhisit remains unfazed and is sticking to his “shuttle diplomacy” schedule to meet with other key political players to sell his idea. He is due to meet the supreme commander today and the Election Commission on Tuesday. He met justice permanent secretary Dr Kittipong Kittiyarak on Friday.
Ms Yingluck's response to Mr Abhisit’s idea was one of positive reservation. She welcomed the idea as a healthy sign, saying the government is open-minded to all proposals. However, she said she needed to consult with the party on how to proceed.
The UDD, meanwhile, views Mr Abhisit’s political initiative with suspicion, describing it as just a charade.
Mutual mistrust between the two opposing camps — the Democrats and PDRC on one side, and Pheu Thai and the UDD on the other — remains as deep as ever. Thus it is not suprising that Mr Abhisit’s idea was met with mistrust from the UDD and reservation from Ms Yingluck.
Mr Abhisit is not the first man wanting to assume the role of “middleman” to talk to all the key political players and convince them to go to the negotiating table. Wattana Muangsook, a former Thai Rak Thai list MP, who was known as the “deal-maker”, tried it before when the PDRC did not exist — but failed.
He recently admitted in an interview with Matichon newspaper that he did not have enough baramee (charisma) to convince the opposing parties in the conflict to talk about reconciliation.
Then there was the late Gen Sanan Kachornprasart who also tried and failed in his role to create reconciliation between the conflicted parties.
Does Mr Abhisit have enough baramee to fulfill the job of “middleman”?
Whether he does or not, I wish him luck.
Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Bangkok Post.