Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Resignations a reality check for Prayut
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 18/07/2020
» The resignation of Uttama Savanayana from the finance portfolio and the team under Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak from the party and the cabinet is a sign of cracks appearing in the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).
Top brass, technocrats, politicos all same
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 12/06/2020
» When ostensible technocrats become ambitious politicians, supervised by army generals and beholden to patronage-driven elected politicians, the result is a power struggle, internal party turmoil, and a country being governed to nowhere. This is the current state of Thailand's ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), the head of a motley and fractious 19-member coalition of minor and micro parties, some represented by one single MP, propping up the government of former coup leader and current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Yet in the face of the opposition bloc that is weak because it has been weakened, after the third-largest winner the Future Forward Party from the last election was dissolved earlier this year, the PPRP is on course to be in office for the foreseeable future, as a new poll is not due for another three years. These dire dynamics suggest Thailand will continue to be rudderless, stuck in a quagmire of its own making, with headwinds that may lead to a reckoning tempest.
Prawit push in PPRP war could backfire
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 06/06/2020
» The power struggle within the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) is an attestation to how politicians are stuck in "old politics", with factions fighting one another, amassing personal gain, as well as gaining access to cabinet positions.
No time for party discord
Oped, Editorial, Published on 29/04/2020
» Should Finance Minister and head of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party Uttama Savanayana be held to account? Definitely. His performance managing state finances, especially the 5,000-baht cash assistance scheme for people affected by the coronavirus outbreak, has been dismal.