PM's 'levitation' wrong trick to cure hypocrisy

PM's 'levitation' wrong trick to cure hypocrisy

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon. (Bangkok Post file photo)
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon. (Bangkok Post file photo)

The reunion is so long overdue it may seem superfluous. Still, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon's move to join the Palang Pracharath Party as chief strategist should make his role, and responsibility, in the ruling party official.

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha should follow suit.

Accountability is an intrinsic part of democracy. Alas, this is one value that seems to have been missing during past years.

It's undeniable that PM Gen Prayut's position as an outsider PM, nominated by a political party yet remaining free from its policies or actions, is a brilliant political manoeuvre.

The unique arrangement not only allowed Gen Prayut to bypass the democratic tradition of running in an election and becoming beholden to voters but also cushioned him from the demands and pressure that political parties or MPs usually receive from their bases.

The non-aligned stance allows PM Gen Prayut to concentrate on running the country without having to worry about party politics. It also gives him a lot of room to move around plus excuses when the government's actions do not match promises that the coalition parties made to voters.

Its flaw, however, is huge.

Even if we set aside the question of whether the prime minister should be democratically elected, Gen Prayut's "outsider" position is still a tenuous one.

Although the PM carries no official ties with the coalition-leading PPRP, his influence on the party is self-evident.

All the party's cadres are members of his cabinet. When the feud broke out between the party's secretary-general, Sontirat Sontijirawong, and leader of the Sam Mitr, or Three Allies, faction Suriya Jungrungreangkij over who was to be assigned the Energy Ministry spilled into plain sight, it was Gen Prayut who issued a statement apologising to the public on the party's behalf.

If the PM is part and parcel of the PPRP, why doesn't he own up to it?

Maintaining a distance from the party when he is probably one and the same with it makes the administration appear theatrical. The PM apparently takes advantage of the PPRP's infrastructure yet bears no responsibility for its stance, personnel or shortcomings.

Looking back, taking only credit while laying blame everywhere else seems to be a hallmark of PM Gen Prayut.

That corruption still pervades even though he made it his priority to solve it? Blame it on the previous government. That the economy is not improving and poor people are suffering? They just need to try harder and not depend only on the government for help.

Sell rubber on Mars. Grow velvet beans instead of paddy rice. Don't force me to solve the problem in the same old way. These are classic Prayut-styled deflections and threats. He may issue an apology from time to time but he has never taken responsibility by action.

It's quite intriguing to see what responsibility Gen Prayut must bear as the "outsider'' PM. The constitution which his regime drafted stipulated that the government's policy statement must be complete with sources of finance. The Prayut policy manifesto carried none and there seemed to be no problem. The PM appeared to have uttered an oath of allegiance that did not conform to the wording prescribed by the charter. He said he would take responsibility, but nobody knows how.

It's true that the PM has not broken any law by levitating above politics. Yet, that may not be entirely respectable when it comes to leadership.

If Gen Prayut is really an independent leader, then shying away from political affiliations would make sense. However, as his ties with and influence over the PPRP are apparent, his dissociation from it seemingly for the sake of expediency reeks of hypocrisy.

The insincerity is even more pronounced considering how the PM has often scolded other politicians for similar practices. He disapproved of former PM Yingluck Shinawatra skipping parliamentary sessions but is following in her footsteps. He blasted the previous governments for appointing their own relatives to political positions but has allowed the same nepotistic practice to go on under his watch.

The case of a PPRP Bangkok MP Sira Jenjaka who was caught in a video allegedly bullying a police officer in Phuket comes to mind. While PM Gen Prayut circuitously said he disapproved of Mr Sira's behaviour and urged other representatives not to imitate it, he insisted there was no need for him to take the issue up with the MP.

It will eventually be up to the PPRP whether to take disciplinary action against Mr Sira. But the question remains: If PM Gen Prayut, as the party's PM candidate, does not have to be accountability for any affairs of the party -- what exactly is the PM responsible for?


Atiya Achakulwisut is a Bangkok Post columnist.

Atiya Achakulwisut

Columnist for the Bangkok Post

Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist for the Bangkok Post.

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