Power play - with nation's image at risk

Power play - with nation's image at risk

Prime Minister and junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha: Arm-twisted into taking the job to save the country reluctantly, he now shows signs he wants to stay in power after elections. (File photo)
Prime Minister and junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha: Arm-twisted into taking the job to save the country reluctantly, he now shows signs he wants to stay in power after elections. (File photo)

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has faced a media storm over his comments backing incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as a potential candidate to be an "outsider" premier (that is, a leader who is not linked to a political party).

Although Mr Somkid did not explicitly say he expects the coup leader to return as an outsider PM, politicians have jumped on the bandwagon to lambast him for an off-the-cuff remark made when journalists asked him if he was prepared to return to work under a similar government set-up.

Speculation arose after a reported meeting of some old-guard politicians at his house not too long ago, supposedly arranged by former political heavyweight Suchart Tancharoen, who has had a chequered history stretching back to the 1990s.

Umesh Pandey is Editor, Bangkok Post.

Mr Suchart has history with many parties and has been a powerbroker for a few decades, but his reputation precedes him and his work. The new group supposedly led by Mr Suchart met about a week ago and decided the time was right to launch a party that would be supportive of Gen Prayut and his current government team to lead the next government, and to get the ball rolling to achieve that goal.

In the meeting attended by many of the new political party backers, plans were floated to make incumbent Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana the new party's leader and incumbent Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong its secretary-general. Chuan Chuchan applied to register the group as the Pracharat Party with the Election Commission.

Mr Somkid hinted that the party was being formed to help Gen Prayut return as Prime Minister after the planned general election in February. If these goals are met, that would mean Gen Prayut would avoid the "outsider" label, as he would have a party affiliation from which to contest the election, and this would lend him greater legitimacy with the public.

However, turning Gen Prayut "legit" would run contrary to all the fuss the military government has made for the past four years that it was in the job not by choice but because the country's political unrest had forced the army to step in.

We have heard over and over again during this time how Gen Prayut does not enjoy the job and that he had to have his arm twisted to take it on.

But the public has been losing faith in the words of their leader.

His repeated pledge to hold elections, and repeated failure to deliver on this promise, has already cost him much credibility. Now, after hearing for four years that he doesn't even like his job, if Gen Prayut then seeks to come back to the post following the election, will the Thai public and the international ciommunity have any faith left in what he says?

While Gen Prayut, Mr Somkid, Mr Uttama and others are worried about how to pass on power from a military coup to a government that comes from elections, not many are thinking of Thailand's place on the international stage.

Thailand, which was the regional power for decades, has started to lose its charm and with 2019 just around the corner, the kingdom has yet another chance to prove itself.

While the military-led government continues to craft a strategy to stay in power, it is forgetting that Thailand will next year be the chair of the 10-nation Asean grouping. This is a chance to repair the damage to its reputation following the events of a decade ago, when red shirt protesters gatecrashed the Asean summit in Pattaya. But it seems as though none of those looking to return to power are even concerned about what they plan to do on the Asean and wider international stage.

In the worst case scenario, imagine if non-conventional means are employed to put Gen Prayut back in power, such as the use of the 250 seats in the senate and 125 members from the lower house.

What the military regime needs to realise is that the arm-twisting methods used in 2007/2008 to force their will was the root cause of the problems that followed.

It is therefore in the country's best interests for the military regime to think carefully before putting Gen Prayut forward as a potential outsider prime minister, as doing so would cause significant damage to Thailand's international reputation. Furthermore, the junta also needs to start drumming up its plans on what it needs to do as the Asean chair.

Next year could be the year Thailand restores its image, but this can only happen if those in charge really want it to.

Umesh Pandey

Bangkok Post Editor

Umesh Pandey is Editor, Bangkok Post.

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