No one wants to be in Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's shoes amid the current pandemic crisis as his political life and that of his entire cabinet depend on how he controls the damage from the third wave of Covid-19, according to political observers.
Critics have slammed the government for failing to anticipate the extent of the current wave of infections which is by far the deadliest of the three outbreaks so far.
The blame falls squarely on the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) for neglecting to ban people's movements during the Songkran festival in the middle of last month.
The exodus of holidaymakers brought the virus either to their families in the provinces or back to Bangkok where the full force of the infection has been unleashed.
As the daily death toll was counted and grief gripped families who witnessed their elders die waiting for ambulances, Gen Prayut declared the government was adopting a single command system to expedite the national vaccination drive which opponents decried as moving at a glacial pace.
The observers said the single command was a fancy term for centralising powers to direct the vaccination policy and put it into action.
It is also taken to mean that the buck stops with the prime minister. He would be the ultimate authority in managing the vaccination programme as the Covid-19 pandemic has progressed to the point where the government's attention and utilisation of state resources must focus on having mass inoculation materialise, the faster the better.
The observers said Gen Prayut is taking a gamble where any logistical or operational flaws that might delay the inoculation could back the government into a political corner.
A political source has warned the opposition and protesters, whose anti-government activities have been subdued by the pandemic, are lurking as they wait for the right opportunity to strike the government.
The launch of the latest social media drive -- encouraging like-minded people to migrate to another country to escape what has been branded intolerable unjust and frustrations in Thailand -- was designed to heap even more pressure on the government. With more than half a million followers, the platform may have established itself as a force to be reckoned with.
However, the source doubted whether the platform should warrant serious attention, dismissing it as an outlet to discredit the government.
Gen Prayut, meanwhile, has highlighted the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines as a top national priority. He pledged to ensure the mass procurement of 10-15 million doses a month from several manufacturers while hastening cooperation between state and private agencies to press ahead quickly with the vaccine rollout.
He maintained that a proactive vaccination plan will ease the burden on the public health system.
The single command structure was also construed as a bid to quietly sideline Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul by placing total power over vaccine procurement oversight in the hands of Gen Prayut.
The observers said Mr Anutin would be forgiven if he was to leave Gen Prayut to fend for himself in the vaccine ordeal. But Mr Anutin himself was also in hot water earlier after an online campaign was unveiled to collect signatures in support of a push for the minister to resign over his inadequate handling of the Covid-19 crisis. The signatures surged past 200,000 in a matter of hours.
The observers said the Covid crisis, which threatened to shake coalition unity, brought Gen Prayut and Mr Anutin closer together. It was reported that the prime minister extended his moral support to the minister and Mr Anutin's deputy, Sathit Pitutecha, during a cabinet meeting.
Mr Anutin also stood his ground and insisted he would not throw in the towel.
Despite the government's unity appearing intact, the observers don't believe Gen Prayut and Mr Anutin are out of the woods yet.
When the Covid-19 pandemic blows over, they will be hounded by protesters demanding that the government show responsibility for its alleged mismanagement and miscalculation of the severity of the third outbreak that left related agencies fumbling and working out of tune, the reason many critics said accounts for the latest wave of infections proving to be so deadly.
Jade: Ratsadon 'changed tack'
Finally out of lockup
After three months behind bars, Ratsadorn protest leader Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak was released on bail this week, joining his co-leader Panusaya "Rung" Sitthijirawattanakul who was freed on May 6 after 59 days in custody.
Mr Parit, who had been on hunger strike since mid-March to demand bail for all political detainees, was spotted wearing a white T-shirt saying "Abolishing Section 112" as he was wheeled out from the medical facility of the Corrections Department.
The 22-year-old student activist was granted bail on a number of conditions, including that he would refrain from offending the monarchy.
Given the T-shirt's message and his past behaviour, several political observers wonder how long the outspoken youth leader will be able to honour his bail agreements.
Speculation is also rife that Mr Parit's prolonged detention could be a ploy to challenge, if not discredit, the judicial system.
He was arrested, released and rearrested in August last year over his protest activities. On Tuesday night when he was about to be released from the prison, police from Roi Et were waiting for him with an arrest warrant.
His latest, and so far longest period of detention started on Feb 9 this year after he was indicted on multiple charges, including lese majeste and sedition for his role in a rally at Sanam Luang on Sept 19 last year.
The Criminal Court denied him bail and three other key leaders-- Arnon Nampa, Somyot Prueksakasemsook and Patiwat Saraiyaem. Several more protest leaders were also arrested and detained.
Bail was also denied to them and on March 15 Mr Parit announced a hunger strike to protest against the detention of all the jailed protest leaders.
Pressure was stepped up for bail to be granted to Mr Parit and other detainees under the "Free our Friends" movement.
While bail continued to be rejected, the mothers of six jailed protest leaders organised a demonstration in front of the prison carrying their children's photos and stood in silence for 112 minutes, symbolic of their opposition to the lese majeste law. Mr Parit's mother, Sureerat, shaved her head in protest.
Krisadang Nutcharas, a lawyer from the Lawyers for Human Rights Centre, wrote on Facebook that Mr Parit's hunger strike and the "Free our Friends" protests would not be able to sway the court.
According to Mr Krisadang, he submitted a bail request for Mr Parit several times but it was always rejected due to a discriminatory justice and legal system.
However, the lawyer's argument was challenged by political observers including Jade Donavanik, a legal scholar and former adviser to the Constitution Drafting Committee.
Mr Jade pointed out that a bail application is usually initiated by a defendant who has to agree to bail conditions to secure temporary release. In Mr Parit's case, Mr Jade suspected that the defence lawyer failed to include "appropriate" bail conditions in the application.
The legal expert's opinion was backed by political watchers who raised as an example the case of Patiwat Saraiyaem, alias Mor Lum Bank, one of the core leaders of the anti-establishment Ratsadon group.
The northeastern folk singer was granted bail in early April after he pledged not to criticise the monarchy and not join future political protests. Speaking before the court, Patiwat reportedly pledged not to breach Section 112 of the Criminal Code and also stay away from political rallies.
Patiwat also told the court that if given bail, he would go back to singing mor lum folk songs for a living and was willing to meet all bail conditions set by the court including wearing an electronic tag.
According to Mr Jade, the Ratsadon group apparently tried to pressure the judicial system and now that public sentiment seems to be on its side, it decided to change tack and get Mr Parit out of jail so he could be a rallying figure for future protests which have been on the wane.
In his view, it was highly likely that Mr Parit would return to political activism, but the activist would first need some time to rehabilitate his health after almost two months on hunger strike.