By Jan Servaes*
BRUSSELS. 31 August 2023 (IDN) — With the arrival of the government of real estate magnate Srettha Thavisin on 28 August 2023, the Thai political theatre seems to be entering the next phase. As I feared in previous posts, this phase makes the 14 May election results look like a joke.
The people wanted change.
When the ‘progressive’ Move Forward Party (MFP) won 150 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives in the 14 May election, it came as a surprise victory for many. Billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra’s alleged ‘opposition party’ Pheu Thai (PTP) won only 141 seats. That was a swallow for the military-conservative elite.
After all, the junta-led regime of Prayut Chan-o-cha was characterized by deep corruption and economic paralysis.
In contrast to the rather pragmatic-opportunistic PTP, the MFP came to voters with a radical platform…
