Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Thailand is Cambodia's neighbor to the West, and this forum is dedicated to Thai news, stories, reviews, blogs, videos, Thai people and anything else related to the country. A lot of expats have both lived and worked in Cambodia and Thailand, and this area is a place to discuss all aspects of life in Thailand and what's going on there. Most topics are about Bangkok and Pattaya because of their larger populations of expatriates and tourists in those cities, but this is for all things Thai.
davegorman
BANNED
Posts: 1048
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2018 10:08 am
Reputation: 219
France

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by davegorman »

pczz wrote: Fri Feb 08, 2019 10:42 am More chance of a civil war in th euk over brexit than a civil war in thailand. Who controls the army controls the country, but uk is fast slipping towards anarchy with an incompetent government and a soineless opposition, whichever side of the debate you are on. i think the general should come to the Uk and bang a few political heads together
That’s not the British way.
France will have a civil war way before the UK. We are the kings of protests and civil uprisings.

Vive La France!
User avatar
phuketrichard
Expatriate
Posts: 16792
Joined: Wed May 14, 2014 5:17 pm
Reputation: 5734
Location: Atlantis
Aruba

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by phuketrichard »

This is VERY UNusual as the royalty has before always stayed out of Politics.

3 important points
1. The princess has registered for the Thai Raksa Chart party, which is loyal to the controversial Shinawatra family that has dominated Thai politics for years.
2. The country's current prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, also announced on Friday that he would be running for prime minister in the current election.
3. But the royal family is revered in Thailand and rarely criticised, so there are questions around whether any other candidate would want to challenge a member of the royal family.

In an astonishing move the elder sister of King Vajiralongkorn has submitted her name as the Prime Ministerial candidate for a party allied to former PMs Thaksin & Yingluck Shinawatra. As a royal, in reality, she cannot be opposed. This completely upends Thai politics.
— Jonathan Head (@pakhead) February 8, 2019

more here;
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47167378

as Stan would say, "Well , here's another fine mess you've gotten us,(me) into"
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
King Keil
Expatriate
Posts: 746
Joined: Wed May 28, 2014 11:47 pm
Reputation: 240
Armenia

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by King Keil »

Where is the popcorn?
davegorman
BANNED
Posts: 1048
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2018 10:08 am
Reputation: 219
France

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by davegorman »

phuketrichard wrote: Fri Feb 08, 2019 1:40 pm This is VERY UNusual as the royalty has before always stayed out of Politics.

3 important points
1. The princess has registered for the Thai Raksa Chart party, which is loyal to the controversial Shinawatra family that has dominated Thai politics for years.
2. The country's current prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, also announced on Friday that he would be running for prime minister in the current election.
3. But the royal family is revered in Thailand and rarely criticised, so there are questions around whether any other candidate would want to challenge a member of the royal family.

In an astonishing move the elder sister of King Vajiralongkorn has submitted her name as the Prime Ministerial candidate for a party allied to former PMs Thaksin & Yingluck Shinawatra. As a royal, in reality, she cannot be opposed. This completely upends Thai politics.
— Jonathan Head (@pakhead) February 8, 2019

more here;
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47167378

as Stan would say, "Well , here's another fine mess you've gotten us,(me) into"
The army won’t give up that easily.
I can see some more maneuvering yet and it’ll change no doubt.
User avatar
hburns
Expatriate
Posts: 422
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:18 am
Reputation: 324
Togo

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by hburns »

At least this election won't be a slanging match and character assassination like every election in the west is.
User avatar
Sidewalker
Expatriate
Posts: 789
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 3:56 pm
Reputation: 251
Location: Siem Reap
Netherlands

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by Sidewalker »

From CNN:
The candidacy of a close member of the royal family is unprecedented in Thailand since the era of absolute monarchy ended 86 years ago. Analysts said the move would have been backed by the new king, whose coronation takes place on May 4-6.
"This is historical," Paul Chambers, politics expert at Thailand's Naresuan University, told CNN. "I think that it's part of a plan by the current sovereign to increase his personal power across the country."
"For him to place his own sister in a position like this ... She's not doing it by herself. This would signify that royalty is increasingly intervening in Thai politics today."
There are people who cannot imagine that there are other ways of life than their own life. :facepalm:
User avatar
Jerry Atrick
Expatriate
Posts: 5410
Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 4:19 pm
Reputation: 3037
Central African Republic

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by Jerry Atrick »

phuketrichard wrote: Fri Feb 08, 2019 1:40 pm As a royal, in reality, she cannot be opposed. This completely upends Thai politics.
— Jonathan Head (@pakhead) February 8, 2019
She renounced her royal status donkey's years ago. Of course she can be opposed.

She's fucking fit, looks 30 years younger than she actually is.
User avatar
phuketrichard
Expatriate
Posts: 16792
Joined: Wed May 14, 2014 5:17 pm
Reputation: 5734
Location: Atlantis
Aruba

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by phuketrichard »

Jerry; although it is NOT against to law to run against her, i doubt anyone would choose to;;

more from the cnn article;
The political culture of Thailand finds that royalty cannot be challenged and for anyone to politically challenge this royalty, well that's simply not acceptable through the political culture," Chambers said. "I doubt any other candidate would dare run against her."
A draconian lese majeste law, backed up by prison terms, could also mean Ubolratana remains unchallenged.

People are hoping that this princess will be a light at the end of Thailand's dark tunnel of dictatorial authoritarianism. That she'll be the means by which democratic forces can compel the junta to cede power and go back to the barracks," Chambers said.
Thai Raksa Chart said in a statement that Ubolratana "thinks it is about time to volunteer to perform the duty as Prime Minister to ... bring development to the country and return the well-being to the people by applying technology, to improve economics and society in order to modernize Thailand at international level, and moreover to create reconciliation among Thai people."
ONE BIG PROBLEM
In March, Thais will vote for the 500-seat lower house of parliament. But the 250-member upper house, or Senate, will be chosen entirely by the military.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/08/asia ... index.html

Things are going to get very interesting over here :beer3:
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
User avatar
yong
Expatriate
Posts: 4267
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:03 pm
Reputation: 2769
Thailand

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by yong »

User avatar
yong
Expatriate
Posts: 4267
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:03 pm
Reputation: 2769
Thailand

Re: Thai Junta and Thaksin-Backed Populists Face Off Before 2019 Poll

Post by yong »

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/ ... omination/

Royalist Hardliners Were in Denial Over Princess Nomination
By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter - February 8, 2019 12:31 pm

Image

BANGKOK — News that a former princess will run in next month’s election certainly caught many by surprise, even hardline defenders of the royal family.

Prominent leaders of the royalist camp woke up Friday to what proved a rude awakening for some: Ubolratana Mahidol, the oldest child of the late King Bhumibol, is now the prime minister candidate for a party long accused of undermining the monarchy – a possibility many disregarded just last night.

“This is all fake news,” Sermsuk Kasitipradit wrote Thursday in response to swirling rumors about Ubolratana’s nomination. “It’s fake news. No one is nominating her.”

Sermsuk, a former editor of The Nation newspaper who commands a large online following, wrote this morning that he had to acknowledge the news.

“This is a long movie,” Sermsuk wrote to his followers, many of whom criticized former leader Thaksin Shinawatra for “drawing” the royal family into politics.

Chulcherm Yugala, a distant relative of the late King Bhumibol, had also dismissed the rumors as nonsense.

“Nonsense. This country is getting very imaginative,” Chulcherm wrote last night. He has yet to post any mea culpa.

Popular Thaksin critic and hardline royalist Therdsak Jiamkijwattana had likewise slammed those spreading rumors for sowing “confusion.”

After Ubolratana’s acceptance of the nomination was confirmed, Therdsak posted a poem attributed to a famed monk who prophesied that a “lady on a white horse” would rescue Thailand in its darkest moment.

Their surprise is a telling sign of how tightly the Thaksin faction has kept word of its checkmate move secret to even those in the palace’s inner circle.

It was also a media-made moment of validation for Thaksin, who has long battled suspicions from the royalist faction that he seeks to overthrow the monarchy. When a photo of Thaksin and Ubolratana watching the FIFA World Cup in Russia emerged on social media last year, many royalists believed it was a forgery.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: crob and 237 guests