Politics in Thailand is like a comic farce — even more so than in most countries. It’s sad and funny at the same time. For the average farang who doesn’t live in Thailand full time, understanding the state of play here must be a daunting task, because it’s frequently puzzling and confusing to full time residents.
I will write about Thai politics from time to time in an effort to explain in fairly clear terms the basics of the current situation, and to express my opinions about what is happening and what should be happening.
People who follow political events in Thailand closely will prefer to read one of the many fine political blogs such as or . My aim is to offer occasional updates as events warrant, designed to elucidate the situation for people living overseas. This means that my descriptions and commentary will be basic, and necessarily lacking in deep insights.
I am, however, quite serious about what I write and the opinions that I express. Debate from readers is welcome.
This is my initial posting in the Thai Politics series.
The Latest News on Thai Politics
It’s a world here in Thailand.
Actually, it may be a bit zanier.
The current news revolves around the guy who was, until yesterday, Prime Minister. His name is Samak, and according to news reports, everyone expects him to be Prime Minister again on Friday — two days from now.
The Prime Minister of the Moment is a fellow named Somchai Wongsawat who is the brother-in-law of Thaksin, the man who was Prime Minister from February 2001 until September 2006, when his government was overthrown by a military coup.
How did this anticipated 3-day break for ex- and soon-to-be- Prime Minister Samak come about?
Well, prior to becoming Prime Minister, Samak had, for years, hosted a cooking show on TV, and for years before that he was on TV and radio in various capacities. Basically, this is a 73-year-old guy who has had a busy life for many decades as a media personality, politician and thug.
Under Thai law, upon becoming Prime Minister, Samak was required to relinquish all other employment.
In fact, he hosted two cooking shows after taking office as PM, and though he wasn’t technically an employee, he received money from the TV station. The court decided yesterday that he was in breach of the law and ordered that he must be removed from office.
No sooner was this announced than the ruling coalition parties announced their intention to assemble on Friday and re-elect him as the party leader, and as Prime Minister.
Here’s how dealt with this footnote in Thai political history:
The Thai political crisis took another farcical turn today when the courts ruled that Prime Minister Samak must resign because he appears on a TV cooking programme. Rather than concentrating on serious issues like democratic legitimacy, murder in street fighting between the two opposing factions or trying to find a peaceful and democratic solution to the crisis, the courts chose to join in the political circus that is playing out. Upholding the letter of the law, but ignoring the spirit of the law, the judges ruled that Samak must resign. His party’s M.P.s in parliament can then re-appoint him. The law was originally drafted in a futile attempt to reduce the influence of big business on Thai governments. It was not drafted to deal with cooking programmes.
This might all sound too unusual to get your head around.
Thai politics can be like that.
To provide a useful starting point for those who are interested, and a primer and reference manual for future blogs, what is printed below is a 3,000 word encapsulation of my take on Thai politics generally… where we are and how we got here. Think of it as “A Very Very Very Short History of Thai Democratic Politics”.
If you’re interested, have a read.
If not, you’ll probably want to avoid any future blogs with the Monty Python photo at the top.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THAI POLITICS AND CURRENT EVENTS
After the relative simplicity of American and Australian politics, the free-for-all that is Thai politics requires, not just a program, but an electronic user’s manual that is updated daily. Little is what it seems on the surface, and the alliances between players are not always apparent.
SideshowBob at blog offered a brilliant method for understanding the primary visible political players in Thailand, dividing them into teams and assigning each team a color.
While I probably won’t use his method of description, it is a useful starting point for our discussion:
I will do a quick rundown of the different players since I think those outside of Thailand may not be aware of how it all works here. For obvious reasons I will represent the teams with colors. Some colors I will explain and others I won’t but I am sure you can figure it out. I will state now that any out of line comments to this post will just be deleted. Deal. For those who want more information on Team Yellow please get your own copy of the that shall not be named.
The teams:
- Team Yellow
- Team Green = Army
- Team Brown = Police
- Team Sticky Rice = Isaan folks
- Team Paragon = Hi-So Bkk Folks
- Team Lunatic = The PPP in the government
- Team Pretty Boy = The ever incompetent Democratic Party
- Team Commando = The PAD – AKA the People’s Alliance for Democracy but not really. I used this name because Sondhi, the glorified Jesus of the PAD, admits to not wearing underwear.
So there you go folks. There are a lot of players. I am sure a case could also be made for the media being another player but that just gets too complicated.
Let’s start at the top. Literally.
Team Yellow
SideshowBob was deliberately ambiguous on two points. First, he mentioned a book without giving it’s title, but he provided a link to Amazon.com. Second, he assigned the color yellow to a team without explaining who the team is.
He’s being ultra-careful, but with good reason.
See, in Thailand there are laws against criticizing the Monarch, the Royal Family or the institution of the Monarchy, and these laws are enforced, even against foreigners. This prohibition, written in law, is known as lese majeste.
This should explain “Team Yellow” and the book is effectively banned in Thailand, as it is highly critical of His Majesty personally and the institution of the Monarchy in general.
Personally, I am careful not to criticize Team Yellow either verbally or on-line, yet the paranoia runs so strong and so deep here in Thailand, that on my old blog (), whenever I wrote anything at all about the King I would get a half dozen or more emails from concerned readers who felt that I was being reckless for writing about HM on my blog at all.
Technically — and Thais take this point very seriously — team yellow is not part of politics at all. He is viewed as something of a demi-god, a dhammaraja with strong links to Bhuddhism and as a person above the ‘dirty’ business of the political realm.
This helps explain why Thais see him as above reproach.
About a year or so ago, the popular internet site YOU-tube was banned in Thailand because there were videos posted which were insulting to the King. When YOU-tube refused to remove them, the Thai government ordered all the ISP’s to block the website.
While westerners were befuddled — first by all the fuss about a mocking video — but also by the use of a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito, residents here in the Land of Smiles understood immediately. Back in farangland the argument was that we make fun of our own leaders — like George Bush — all the time. Why can’ t Thais have a sense of humour about this?
Thais were furious. After all, George Bush is only a filthy politician and certainly not on the same level with the King of Thailand.
Thais are happy to take shots at the Prime Minister or other politicians, but the King is not simply the Head of State in Thailand, he is revered in a way that I have never seen before in my life. He is considered above reproach.
Of course, in a country where criticism of the monarch is against the law and frequently punished, any criticism that might exist is quickly muted.
Absent any criticism, and in the face of a massive amount of positive publicity in schools, newspapers and all other sources, the average Thai person happily accepts the exhalted position of the monarch as fact.
So, team yellow holds a special position in Thailand… one that is powerful, yet often silent. The King is a moral leader as opposed to a political leader. Officially, he has little power, but effectively he carries massive amounts of authority.
His authority is stored up and doled out carefully. Because he seldom speaks publicly, when he does, people listen.
The King is over 80 years old and has sat on the throne of Thailand for more than 60 years. For most Thais, he is the only monarch they have ever known in their lifetimes. The word “popular” doesn’t begin to describe his position here. He is deified.
But he aslo has all the health concerns of other octogenarians, and there is a real concern about what will happen when the day inevitably comes that he no longer sits on the throne. Bangkok is rife with speculation that the political dramas you see playing out daily in the streets of Bangkok are a result of power struggles and positioning that is taking place with an eye towards that inevitability.
But most of what is whispered in corners can’t be spoken aloud, even in spaces devoted to the truth.
One question that is often asked is, with all the political strife in the country today, why doesn’t the King step in and take control of the situation? People may whisper their answers to this question quietly in corners, but no one inside of Thailand is likely to shout the answers out loud.
This is only one of the many factors that makes it so difficult to understand Thailand from the outside. You almost never hear the entire story.
Okay. Enough about Team Yellow.
Political Structure of the Government
Americans who are unfamiliar with democracy outside of the USA may find it difficult to understand the political structure of Thailand. Let me give the briefest overview I can.
Almost from the first day of the Republic, America had a two-party system.
Like many democracies outside of America, Thailand has a multi-party system, where government may be formed by a single ruling (majority) party, or by a coalition of parties who work together to form a majority in the Parliment (the general equivalent of the American Congress).
In America, the Cheif Executive Officer (the President) is elected separately from the Legislature, and aside from death, resignation or impeachment, he is only replaced by a regularly scheduled election held every 4 years. In the case of death, resignation or impeachment he is replaced by the Vice President.
In Thailand, the Prime Minister is not elected to the post — he is simply the leader of the majority party or ruling coalition. The party can change leaders at any time, and when they do, the new party leader becomes the Prime Minister. Practically speaking, people vote for a Prime Minister at election time, but in a very real sense, the position of Prime Minister is controlled by the party or coalition who controls the Parliament, and it is not necessary to hold an election to change Prime Ministers. The party can simply appoint a new leader who leaves the position either voluntarily or involuntarily, who then takes over as Prime Minister.
I mention this because it is particularly relevant at the moment here in Thailand.
One other relevant point is that, while national elections in the US are held at a scheduled time (every two years in November) and terms of office are fixed, here in Thailand (like many other democracies) the Parliament has a maximum term of office, but the Parliament can be dissolved by the Prime Minister and new elections called at any time prior to the maximum term.
This control over the timing of elections is a tool that the government can use to try to retain power, but it is also a tool that can be used by it’s opponents to force the government to subject itself to a de-facto no-confidence vote.
Again, this is particularly salient at the moment.
Political Parties & the Prime Minister
Thailand’s most successful party has had multiple incarnations. Prior to the coup in 2006 it was the TRT or Thai Rak Thai (Thais love Thai) party. Following the coup of September 2006 the TRT disappeared and was replaced by the PPP (People’s Power Party) which is basically the remnants of TRT. Aside from period following the 20 Sep 2006 coup when the military or it’s appointed government was in power, these two parties have controlled Thai politics since the election of (the now overthrown) to the position of Prime Minister in February 2001.
The prime Minister — at least until yesterday — was named . This is his first name. Generally, in Thailand, surnames are not used except in very formal situations so there is usually no need to learn anyone’s surname. As discussed at the top of the blog, he was found guilty of breaking the law because he hosted a TV cooking show after taking office as Prime Minister early in the year, and was ordered by the court to be removed from office.
As of today, — the brother-in-law of former Prime Minister Thaksin — has taken over as Prime Minister. It is expected that he will relinquish that position on Friday (two days from now) when — according to news reports — the PPP will convene a meeting where Samak will be re-elected and thus be re-appointed as Prime Minister, just three days after being removed by the courts.
Monty Python politics at it’s best. You can’t invent anything this funny.
At the moment, Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) has declared that at least one leader of the PPP is guilty of election fraud (he has been found guilty in court and banned from politics). Under Thai law, the EC can request that the PPP be dissolved. The EC has asked the court to dissolve the PPP.
In anticipation of that real possibility, some of the TRT/PPP faithful have formed a new party, which, if needed, will take it’s turn in the political fray.
Probably the simplest way to explain the TRT/PPP philosophy is to say that it is a populist party that has a broad appeal among the poor rural Thais (Team Sticky Rice), who outnumber their big city cousins by a large margin.
Thailand’s oldest political party is the Democratic Party, led by a youthful, handsome and some might argue intellectual fellow named . The Economist once described him as “well liked but ineffectual” and I’d have to say that I have that same impression. When he speaks on the record, I like his ideas. He seems a good man. He also seems to have little or no effect on the political dynamics that surround him.
The Democrats are currently the party with the second highest number of seats in parliament, and — at least until recently — they were the only party in opposition.
Numerically the Democrats could unite with other parties to form a ruling coalition, but they have not been able to cement a coalition. From my position on the sidelines, it doesn’t appear that they have come close to doing so, or even made a real effort to do so.
There are a few relatively minor parties that round out the numbers in Parliament. While they are significant forces in Thai politics, for the purposes of this blog, they can simply be lumped together as “minor parties” or “other members of the ruling coalition”.
The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD)
This is Team Commando in the list above.
In small African Nations you might have a group that calls itself the People’s Movement to Free Komputaland — a movement that is neither for the people nor for freedom. It is often a group simply opposed to the current government and trying to wrap it’s anti-government actions in a pretty name that will attract support.
That’s the PAD.
The People’s Alliance for Democracy isn’t really FOR anything — at least they aren’t for democracy.
The PAD is simply AGAINST the current government. That is almost it’s entire agenda.
The leaders of the PAD are on record as making statements along the lines of ‘people are too stupid to elect the leaders of the country’. The PAD is not a populist movement — remember, the PPP which is leads the ruling coalition government is populist.
The PAD is anti-populist.
It’s a strange group. There are between five and nine individuals who are the core leaders, and the ‘grassroots’ support for the PAD comes primarily from Bangkok’s middle class. The most identifiable person in a leadership position with the PAD is .
But the People’s Alliance for Democracy is a group that promotes the Monarchy (team yellow), the Military (team Green) and the traditional business and political elite of Bangkok (team paragon).
(By the way, the name Team Paragon is a reference to a very large, plush and expensive shopping mall recently built in the center of Bangkok. It features crystal chandeliers and brand names like Louis Vuitton, Hermes and the like.)
An opposition group that runs at the level of street protests, which is working against a populist government, and promotes reducing democracy in favor of a return to power sharing among the monarchy, the military and big business, and which finds it’s primary support among the working middle class and branded as a pro-democracy movement is simply too strange to fathom. It may sound stranger than a Monty Python skit, but it’s condition normal in Thai politics.
Here’s how the International Herald Tribune explains it
:
“This is a very weird situation where a reactionary movement is mobilizing people by using conservative ideology mixed with leftist language,” said Prajak Kongkeerati, a leading political scientist at Thammasat University.
The situation is weird but to some extent predictable, reflecting many of the social tensions visible throughout the region. A government that is hardly democratic, pursuing autocratic policies and seeking to neutralize the checks and balances of the Constitution, bases its support on the votes of the poor. That alienates powerful interests that are used to getting their way, which breeds confrontation, paralysis and, possibly, instability.
Whichever way the confrontation ends, analysts say, democracy is unlikely to be the winner.
One tool the PAD uses effectively is to scream at the top of it’s lungs that it supports the Monarchy. It has occasionally shouted that it’s opponents do not, but that has led to trouble, so now it simply damns it’s opponents by implication.
Yellow is the color of the Monarchy because it is associated in Thailand with Monday, the day of the week that the King was born. (The Queen’s color is blue if you’re wondering).
Wearing yellow is a sign of unity with the King, and this has been one of the smartest things the leaders of the PAD ever chose to do. By being identified as pro-Monarchy, they put themselves in a position that was easy to defend, and offered a natural offensive tool (ie. if the PAD is pro-Monarchy, and you are opposed to the PAD, then you must be anti-Monarchy. This argument then puts anti PAD forces on the back foot of having to defend their unity with the King).
It was the street protests of the PAD in 2005 and 2006 that weakened the then-Prime Minister Thaksin, and paving the way eventually for the military coup d’etat in September 2006.
At the time, Thaksin was so unpopular among the residents of Bangkok, that simply being against him was enough. He had sold Shincorp for an obscene amount of money, in a deal that was arguably illegal since it appeared to use a nominee-structure to hand control over to foreign investors, and which put tax-free proceeds into the hands of Thaksin and his family. There were other factors as well, but it was really this event that sparked the public rallies against him.
The people of Bangkok, who had turned out in the tens or hundreds of thousands to support daily street protests for months were jubilant following the military coup. Far from being afraid, they were giving flowers and food to the soldiers with guns standing on the street corners. I lived here at the time and it seemed a bit “Twilight Zone” to me… a bit like the Americans who marched into France and were hailed as liberators for chasing the Germans out of the country.
These same people were dismayed when the PPP won the democratic election held in December 2007 under the revised constitution.
The cry went up that the government was not legitimate. Charges of vote buying and election fraud were raised. It took a few months, but by May the protesters were back in the streets, and as August turned into September they decided that the best thing they could do was take over Government House.
And so, today, we have a deeply divided political landscape.
On one side is the government; elected by the rural poor.
On the other side politically; the Democratic party, led by the intellectual but ineffectual Abhisit.
In the streets, and opposed to the government (but not necessarily for the Democrat Opposition Party) is the PAD, essentially promoting a reduction in democracy and a return to more ‘traditional’ Thai power structures.
The Military and the Police
As an American, it’s hard to reconcile myself to the idea of the military and the police as political forces — at least when it comes to internal politics. When I was a wee lad, I was taught that the armed forces served the civilian government, and that the President was Commander-in-Chief.
Aside from some minor skirmishes like the Revolutionary War in the 1700s and the Civil War in the mid-1800s, the army has not attempted a coup or change of government in the U.S. I daresay that these days, the idea of a military coup in America is unthinkable.
But in Thailand, it is the way we do things. Military coups are the norm, and coup rumours are discussed in the newspaper as casually as the football scores.
Prior to 1932, Thailand was an absolute monarchy. In 1932 the King gave the gift of democracy to the Thai people.
Since that time there have been a lot of coups d’etat. I thought that it was 18, but just this morning I read in the newspaper that it was 19. When you can’t keep count it’s a lot. I got out my calculator and figured out that we’ve had a coup here every 4 years on average, or with the same frequency that the US has held presidential elections. When you toss in the fact that there have also been democratic elections in addition to the military changes in government, you’ll realize that the current chaos that is Thai politics is the norm, not the exception.
This another reason why the King is seen as such a stabilizing factor in this unsettled country.
So, like it or not, the military is a political force here. It seems that, as often as not, they are running the country between brief periods of democracy. Like every country, there is one guy in charge of the Army. Unlike most countries, in Thailand he has to constantly clarify whether he intends to overthrow the government or not, with his comments being reported in the newspapers as though they were real news.
The current chief of the army is who is such a wacky fellow that for his own scheduled news conference last Friday, leaving reporters wondering why they had been summoned.
When it comes to the constant questions about the possibility of a coup, the only reason reporters ask — since the answer, of course, is always “no there will be no coup” — is to be able to accurately report after the coup, exactly how many days before the coup the chief of the army denied that it would happen.
So it goes in this Monty Python political universe.
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