Showing 1 - 10 of 27
Three main parties and two directions
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/01/2026
» Although Thailand's election campaign is reaching fever pitch ahead of voting day on Feb 8, the dynamics and contours of its final outcome can be gleaned from past polls over the last 25 years. Only once in January 2001, as was indicated in this space last week, were voter results fully honoured and carried out. Other elections were either upended by military coups or manipulated by judicial interventions.
Rethinking identity from the start
Oped, Watcharin Ariyaprakai, Published on 29/10/2025
» Thailand has made history by recognising same-sex marriage, affirming the right of adults to love and marry freely. This will rightly be celebrated as a triumph for equality and human dignity. Yet, in the same society, another group remains voiceless: newborns born with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD).
SET credibility crisis
Oped, Postbag, Published on 02/01/2024
» Re: "An unfair practice", (PostBag, Dec 29) & Re: "SET poised for upbeat finish", (Business, Dec 25).
The tide of history shifts in Thai politics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 02/06/2023
» Notwithstanding the ongoing political shenanigans by appointed agencies to shape final outcomes after the May 14 poll, Thailand already will never be the same again. The Move Forward Party's (MFP) victory as the largest winning side, with 151 out of 500 parliamentary seats, is profound but not unprecedented. Together with the Pheu Thai Party's 141 MPs, these two opposition parties are unwittingly sending a message to each other and to the broader political establishment that the curve of Thai history is shifting tectonically. Failing to grasp and adjust to this evolving tide of history could marginalise Pheu Thai and challenge the establishment to its core foundations.
Populism triumphs as election looms
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/03/2023
» Although the campaign season for Thailand's much-anticipated election has only just begun, populism has already become the runaway winner. All of the contesting parties have come up with a plethora of populist pledges to woo voters. That populism has triumphed in Thai politics bears multiple longer-term implications.
Thaksin's homecoming is a price too high to pay
Oped, Prasarn Marukpitak, Published on 15/10/2022
» The next general election is now firmly on the horizon, with the Election Commission (EC) having tentatively set the date last month as being May next year.
In good faith
Oped, Postbag, Published on 24/09/2022
» Re: "Support for nuns long overdue", (Editorial, Sept 18).
Student loans need overhaul
Oped, Editorial, Published on 21/09/2022
» The Student Loan Fund (SLF), which was supposed to help students pursue higher education, ended up being the most counterproductive financial scheme in the country. The latest law amendment to help fix the fund is a good start but the agency that runs the fund needs major reform.
Uniformly servile
Oped, Postbag, Published on 30/07/2022
» Re: "The dress code conundrum", (Life, July 26).
Monkeypox a wake-up call to be prepared
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 27/07/2022
» Monkeypox is very unpleasant and it spreads very fast, but it's not a real killer: 16,000 cases in 75 countries in just a couple of months is impressive, but there have been only five deaths.