RAWBangkok

This will be fairly short.

I had planned not to write part two until the Parliment voted on a new Prime Minister (which will happen sometime today — Friday), but the situation is just too ludicrous to wait.  That can be part three.

Over the past 40 or 50 hours, the online newspapers have been posting new lead stories every two or three hours as the rumours of support for and against different candidates have appeared and disappeared.  It’s been a bit like watching waves rolling up and receding at the beach, with contradictory headlines appearing one after the other every couple of hours.

Rather than trying to recount the ebb and flow, I thought I’d offer a couple of choice quotes from the English language daily Bangkok Post:

…his opponents warned the return of Mr Samak could worsen the political situation. The PPP leader has another court case waiting for him, they added.

The Appeals Court’s verdict on the defamation lawsuits filed against Mr Samak and former prime minister’s office minister Dusit Siriwan, by former deputy Bangkok governor Samart Ratchapolsitte, is expected on Sept 25.

The Criminal Court found Mr Samak and Mr Dusit guilty on four counts of defaming Mr Samart during their TV talk shows between Jan 12 and Jan 19, 2006. The court sentenced them to 24 months in jail, with no suspension. Mr Samak has appealed.

If the Appeals Court upholds the verdict, Mr Samak will face jail unless he takes his case to the Supreme Court.

If you read part 1, then you understand the background. It seems to me that the WORST thing this country could do is to bring Samak back to power (okay… second worst behind returning Thaksin to power) yet it is a serious possibility.

And on the subject of Thaksin, the man who was Prime Minister until he was ousted by the 2006 coup. The man who bought the Manchester City Football Club this year then sold it again a few months later. The man who returned to Thailand this year to have his day in court, then fled the country with his wife to seek political asylum in England. Here’s a Bangkok Post article from yesterday that discusses Thaksin’s impact on who the next Prime Minister will be:

(BangkokPost.com) – People Power party (PPP) will ask for opinion from an influential figure in London on who should become a new prime minister after the Constitution Court disqualified Samak Sundaravej over a cooking show scandal, deputy PPP spokesman Suthin Klangsaeng said Thursday.

“A direct line from London” has voiced opinion, he admitted.

“His support will be taken into consideration, but will not be decisive in determining the candidate,” he said. “We have to listen to him, because Thaksin is still a Thai national.”

He did not state clearly who that person is, but it is rather obvious that he was talking about ousted premier and former Thai Rak Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who is seeking political asylum in London.

I’ll probably be back with part three as soon as the new PM has been elected.

***UPDATE***

Seems Part Three will have to wait, as no new PM was selected today.  Here’s the report from The Nation :

Former Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s hope for a political comeback suffered a severe blow this morning when his allies both outside and within the ruling party boycotted a special House session to select a new chief executive.

The allies disapproval of Samak’s re-instatement forced the boycott. The House is scheduled to convene again next Wednesday to elect a new prime minister, but Samak’s chances now appear doomed.

All eyes are on the coaltion partners now, as none of them sent MPs to join the urgent House session. Even senior PPP leaders are acknowledging that the possibility of Samak’s return has caused widespread conflicts.