Give the military regime some credit. At least it has the sense not to ban the Asia edition of <i>Time</i> magazine with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on the cover.
If it could, however, it probably would not mind inviting the magazine's editorial team for a coffee and "attitude adjustment" session.
It's a known fact that Gen Prayut is not that friendly with the media. He has given few exclusive interviews, if any. Talking with Time must have been something special, a move that would boost his standing, domestically and internationally.
Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist, Bangkok Post.
But if the date with Time was expected to carve out an image of Gen Prayut as the man who has sacrificed everything for his country, as a new hero of Asia, to pave the way for his next-phase return to the premiership, the result could not have been more disastrous.
And if touching base with Time is a litmus test as to whether the military regime "gets" what the world out there is all about, what the international community is thinking about it and what it is expecting from Thailand, it's clear the government remains lost.
At first, Government House seemed to have thought the cover was great news.
"PM Gen Prayut on the cover of Time magazine, the world has recognised us,'' read one news story with extensive quotes from government spokesman Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
Soon, however, the government's PR team realised the story might not be as glamourous as they had wished.
Democrat or dictator? The magazine posed the question as it described in the article how Gen Prayut has promised to return Thailand to democracy but is tightening his grip instead. That was definitely not the glowing recognition the government was seeking.
While Time acknowledged he has brought peace to the country and restored a level of economic growth, it also reported that his administration routinely detained peaceful protesters, with at least 1,800 civilians facing prosecution in military courts.
The magazine did not mince words either when it said the PM once threw a banana skin at a reporter, threatened to "execute" those whose coverage was not to his liking, told journalists to ask questions to a cardboard cutout of himself and "on a rural outreach mission, he was photographed talking to a frog".
Ouch! The recognition may be there but it's definitely not complimentary. That is probably why a rumour swirled over the weekend that this issue of Time, to hit the newsstand on July 2, would be banned from being sold in Thailand.
Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon shot that down yesterday, saying he would not seek to ban the magazine. He claimed to not have read the article but he was apparently hung up with it calling Gen Prayut "Little Sarit'' after former PM Field Marshal Sarit Thanarath, who also seized power through a coup in 1957.
"Gen Prayut does not resemble Field Marshal Sarit in any way. He is not brutal. He has never executed anyone,'' Gen Prawit reportedly said.
Field Marshal Sarit was known as a strongman. He is probably best remembered for using Section 17 for the then-charter, which gave him expansive power, to execute people suspected of Communist plots and causing a fire in Bangkok, among other misdeeds.
Field Marshal Sarit's work adage was: "I alone take responsibility", which is reflexive of his dictatorship.
He was accused of corruption after he died and had assets worth over 600 million baht seized by a later government.
But Field Marshal Sarit was about more than just far-right political agendas. During his tenure a long-term plan for national development was devised. Indeed, the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), which has come up with a series of five-year plans until now, was launched during his leadership.
In principle, his attempt to set up a long-term plan is no different from what Gen Prayut is doing with his 20-year national strategy. Still, it would be unfair to claim Gen Prayut is following in the footsteps of the late strongman. Even if certain principles seem unchanged, the circumstances and details are so different the two premierships aren't comparable.
What is clear from the Time cover debacle is that for the international community, the intellectual framework of democracy versus dictatorship still governs its perspective. No matter how much PR blitz is added, or how many times phrases like "sacrifices for the country" are used, dictatorship remains the question for Gen Prayut.