Finally, Thailand's democracy has been restored to life with the reopening of parliament. Special interest groups have also emerged to voice opinions and criticism of the new Prayut Chan-o-cha government, while the opposition is performing its checks-and-balances role. We hope such political mechanisms will provide room for the country to manage political conflicts, and therefore prevent a return to street protests.
The new government began work last week after announcing its policy statement before parliament. We have witnessed some cabinet members, including Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob of Bhumjaithai, switch to hyperactive mode with a plethora of policies to solve long-standing problems. Democrat ministers headed to the party's political base in the South armed with policies to tackle problems of nosediving prices of agricultural products.
Their eagerness may be driven by a political instinct that the Prayut coalition government, which lacks unity and is being challenged by a strong opposition, may not last long. Hence, their priority is to impress the public with hard work to help bolster their popularity in the event of a sudden government collapse.
By now Gen Prayut must have already realised that being prime minister in a democratic system is no easy task. He now has to brave challenges to his rule, unlike the years he ran the country as a coup-installed leader with the support of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and special powers to silence critics and political activists. The days when he could brandish his magical Section 44 wand, or slap opponents with Section 116 sedition charges have gone.
In fact, soon after the Palang Pracharath Party won the March 24 election, Gen Prayut got his first parliamentary challenge when the opposition filed a petition questioning his eligibility to be PM. The opposition argued that, as NCPO chief in charge of national administration, Gen Prayut was a state official and thus barred by the constitution from becoming premier. The Constitutional Court has accepted the opposition's complaint.
The question of Gen Prayut's eligibility for office is like an open wound into which the opposition keeps rubbing salt. Firebrand politicians were eager to air the issue again during the policy statement session. Others in the opposition blamed him and his outgoing cabinet for focusing on populist policies and cash handouts, while making no effort to remedy inequality in an economy where wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few rich families. They added that the new government policies are vague and lack clarity over implementation and time-frame.
It's evident the opposition is making full use of parliamentary rules and regulations in its bids to invalidate the new administration. It claimed, for example, that the new government breached the constitution by failing to detail its proposed budget, vowing to take the matter to the Constitutional Court.
Gen Prayut's opponents are set to take the battle to another level with an impeachment push based on allegations that the PM and his cabinet members omitted key words from his oath when delivering his policy statement to parliament. Such an oversight, if proved, could cost Gen Prayut his premiership.
It should be noted that the policy statement received unprecedented public attention when it was broadcast live. Even though Gen Prayut tried hard to soften his manner -- making tongue-in-cheek statements like "hi, pretty" when greeting Future Forward spokesperson Pannika Wanich, and calling Chonnan Srikaew of Pheu Thai a "parliamentary star in the making" -- he lost his patience after a series of provocations by the opposition. No matter how hard he tries to change his character, Gen Prayut is in reality an autocrat who ran the country with absolute power for more than five years.
Reacting aggressively to challenges from the opposition, as if he were still a coup-installed leader who can ignore all advice, is no longer appropriate. His team has tried to explain away his attitude as a character quirk, but his lack of tolerance is sparking concern over whether the country can escape the cycle of political conflict.
It's absolutely certain that Gen Prayut will face more scrutiny as the opposition digs in and exploits all constitutional means to oust him from office, a fate that has befallen previous military men-turned-PMs.
The next big challenge is just around the corner, with the government scheduled to deliver the Budget Act, covering 3.2 trillion baht for the 2020 fiscal year, for parliamentary approval in October. A tough no-confidence motion is bound follow.
And it's not just parliamentary scrutiny that the Prayut government must face. In our era of social media, netizens armed with information and knowledge pose a constant challenge to government, regardless of the parliamentary calendar. The fact that Thai citizens' political awareness has grown enormously in recent years means the Prayut government must be careful to avoid any wrongdoing -- be it corruption, abuse of power or nepotism -- or its legitimacy will be put in doubt.
Chairith Yonpiam is assistant news editor, Bangkok Post.