The prime minister is wearing no clothes, and somebody must tell him.
Otherwise, he will get carried away with his pomposity, and his ungentlemanly ways of getting a head start in lead-up to the general election, which bodes ill for himself and the nation as a whole.
There should be no question now that PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha needs new clothes, ones that will lift his status from that of a military dictator to a "democratically elected prime minister".
Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist, Bangkok Post.
Despite his showmanship, the man must be suffering from an inferiority complex. That is why he often boasted about having done more than any previous PM even though he was not elected to power. The lack of a democratic label is clearly a sore point for him. His blood boils every time this button is pushed.
Behind the tantrums, it's clear the retired army general yearns to be accepted as a legitimate leader, a saviour of the nation who will do everything he can to make it better.
That is how he sees himself. That is why it hurts so much when some people tell him otherwise.
This lack of legitimacy makes it more important for him to don a new cloak. He needs to be seen as an elected prime minister who can carry on his dreams and fulfil his vanity. His people have said they can weave one for him, without his having to go through the bother of getting elected.
That is why PM Gen Prayut has all but revealed his intention to be nominated as an outsider candidate for the premiership. That is why the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), led by four of his ministers, has made known its wish to name him as one of its three prime ministerial candidates.
PM Gen Prayut's people must have told him that the new cloak is coming along nicely, that it will be the most exquisite garment befitting his stately stature and position. They must have said it's smart of him to go out and meet the people around the country to remind them the military regime has spent more than 100 billion baht on the "Pracharath" scheme, supposedly for their welfare. Never mind the identical name of the state project and the pro-regime political party. It is part of the art of getting a magnificent new set of clothes.
It's obvious the prime minister's weavers see no conflict of interest in his staying in the top job. He has the power to do anything, even cancel the election, but they maintain there is no problem with them potentially fielding him as a candidate.
While all of the other political parties are still banned from campaigning under the regime's order, a billboard went up last week that hailed PM Gen Prayut as "the non-corrupt PM society is yearning for". Guess what his deputy, Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, had to say about that? Gen Prawit reportedly said the billboard cheering on Gen Prayut is okay as the royal decree on the election of MPs has not yet taken effect. When asked if other parties could do the same thing, Gen Prawit reportedly said he didn't know.
It's true Gen Prayut has not officially accepted any party's nomination to serve as an outsider candidate. It's also true there are no laws banning organisations from erecting billboards to cheer him on. But how about political etiquette? How about the need for the government, and everyone else, to ensure this election is free and fair so we can move on to the next, supposedly democratic chapter after years of being stuck in a divisive trap?
Similar to Hans Christian Andersen's short tale, the PM's "legitimacy weavers" are probably telling him that people who are criticising his new clothes are members of the opposition, unpatriotic or simply stupid. But the truth is there is no legitimacy in his "new clothes". Behind the arrogance, the man is naked. And he must have felt it, subconsciously at least, hence why he keeps losing his cool.
A man of honour, the kind Gen Prayut envisages himself to be, would try to win this election in an above-board way. He would do everything to ensure he is seen as a fair player and the election clean. He will show he can beat all those rivals he has berated, even at their own game.
That is how the prime minister's cloak of legitimacy should be woven.