Showing 1 - 10 of 552
Pheu Thai gambles in casino policy
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 16/09/2024
» 'Thaksin thinks, Pheu Thai acts." This famous slogan of the ruling Pheu Thai Party was clearly reflected in the government's policies presented to parliament by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra last Thursday.
People's Party eyes future despite hurdle
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 07/09/2024
» The People's Party did not win the Ratchaburi provincial administration organisation (PAO) chairman election last Sunday. However, this is not a major loss for the party, given the substantial increase in voter support it got for its candidate, almost threefold from the previous poll. Going forward, the party has good prospects for next year's local election and the general election of 2027.
Shadow of old guard lingers
Oped, Editorial, Published on 06/09/2024
» The defeat of the People's Party, formerly the Move Forward Party (MFP), in the Ratcha-buri Provincial Organisation Administration election and the shooting down of the bill on decentralised transport proposed by the opposition leader almost in the same week are definitely not a coincidence.
Srettha Thavisin fell to hidden forces
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 30/08/2024
» Hindsight is likely to place Srettha Thavisin in Thai political annals as a prime minister who tried his best but ultimately succumbed to forces way beyond his control. While his nearly 12-month tenure in office came up short on policy deliverables, it nevertheless reset Thailand's foreign policy projection on Myanmar amid more omnidirectional relations with the major powers.
Thorny ethics debate
Oped, Editorial, Published on 29/08/2024
» The nation's political parties are to kick off a process to seek amendments to the charter. The main focus is a clause regarding politicians' ethics and a law governing the dissolution of parties to prevent political upheavals.
Keeping politics in the family
News, Published on 28/08/2024
» Politics is increasingly returning to being a family business in Southeast Asia, despite its large and vibrant democracies. It's a worrying trend. Power is at risk of being concentrated in the hands of an exclusive club of entrenched clans. That will disproportionately disadvantage the region's dynamic youth who are getting more frustrated with nepotism.
The omen of Paetongtarn's leadership
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 27/08/2024
» Paetongtarn Shinawatra's political ascension as the country's 31st prime minister is unprecedented in Thai history -- it is also a moment of reckoning for the country's political future. Her father, Thaksin, wasted no time recapturing the spotlight, positioning himself as the Nostradamus who knew everything just days after her official appointment. His demeanour and words have reminded all Thais of the dangers inherent in dynastic politics. Will it impact her ability to govern independently and effectively?
Shinawatras must shed old patterns
Editorial, Published on 25/08/2024
» Inarguably, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's first public address since his return from self-imposed exile has become the talk of the town, albeit not in the most flattering way.
Thai politics has turned upside down
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/08/2024
» The rise of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the return -- and re-entry, of her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, have turned Thai politics upside down. On the surface, Mr Thaksin still dominates Thai politics nearly 20 years after he was deposed by a military coup and exiled for most of that period. This time, his political power and influence are being exercised through his daughter Ms Paetongtarn. As the Shinawatra clan has been coopted by its former establishment adversaries, the past two decades of periodic elections, street protests, two military coups, two constitutions, and multiple judicial bans on political parties and elected politicians have entered a new chapter.
Democracies uniting to counter global populism
News, Jan-Werner Mueller, Published on 22/08/2024
» Think back to late June and early July. The French far right was favoured to win a snap parliamentary election. Trumpist judges in the United States were conveniently resolving the legal woes of the former president, who seemed to be gliding to victory after President Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance. And while Britain was getting a Labour government, a new anti-immigration party led by the chief Brexiteer, Nigel Farage, had made unprecedented gains. Faced with it all, pundits warned that a wave of populist, "anti-incumbency" rage was sweeping across the world's democracies.