Ex-prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has got his name in the media again, but for old, tired and ultimately unacceptable reasons. The 86-year-old former army chief trotted out his tired recommendation for solving the country's political division and problems. Once again he plumped for what he and a handful of supporters have previously called a national government. He has ever so slightly altered his plan by calling for an indefinite delay in national elections and formation of what he now calls "interim government".
It is just as unworkable and unacceptable as it was the first time he put forward such a plan over eight years ago. After the May 19, 2010, violence when the army attacked and dispersed red-shirt protesters, Gen Chavalit plumped for a "national government", requiring dismantling the government of that time, led by Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrats. Gen Chavalit was certain a national coalition could establish peace to let an election take place. A Pheu Thai government would, he said, "resolve all problems in eight to 16 months".
We know how that turned out. A free and fair election was held in mid-2011. The Pheu Thai Party won and formed the government. It certainly failed to resolve "all problems" and arguably made political divisions not just worse, but closer to civil war. No important figure on any side of the political, military or business sectors supported the plan.
In a last gasp for credibility Gen Chavalit was left to appeal that the monarchy should step in. At that point there was a general sigh of relief as Gen Chavalit returned to the obscurity he has earned through previous service to the nation. His return on Friday, with the same vague plan for what he now calls an interim government has not met a noticeable welcome.
The years-long call for so-called national governments fails on many counts but the main one is the unanswered question of who would serve -- more precisely who would pick such an objective government. Assuming that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) would step aside -- which it will not -- Gen Chavalit and his tiny supporting group have never stated just who would take over. This doesn't even begin to mention problems such as how such an appointed government would be illegal and unconstitutional.
The national-government "solution" for Thailand never has met public or political approval. Nor should it. It reeks not only of self-interest but of the completely absent plea of giving peace a chance or, in the now-jokey US parlance, "Can't we all just get along?" Gen Chavalit's plan is pie in the sky and unworkable because while Thais still are united on basic principles, the devil is always in the details. Every democratic parliamentary system specifically accounts for the presence of an opposition because without one, accountability and democracy are impossible.
The proper way to get a government approved by the most citizens is to hold a democratic election. This is accepted today by such a huge majority of Thais that Gen Chavalit's plan quite properly gets a thumbs down from the current regime, from every political party polled by the media, and from common citizens. Idealist hopes are fine, but a truly national government can only spring from the ballot box, with government and opposition alike.
No one doubts Gen Chavalit's sincerity. Likewise, no one seriously supports his claim that a national government would even be able to delineate, let alone achieve unity on many important areas of current disagreement. There is probably no current political course accepted by the public at large more than free and fair elections -- with next May as the absolute deadline. Gen Chavalit's call to delay national polls indefinitely show how out of touch he truly is.