Thailand may face further political unrest after monarchist activists filed new lawsuits against recently appointed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her party.
Yesterday, Thai media reported that a petition to dissolve Pheu Thai had been submitted to the Election Commission (EC), alleging that the party had allowed Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who is not a member of Pheu Thai, to gain control of the party. The anonymous petitioner submitted the complaint to the EC on August 19, according to a report by Thai broadcaster PBS.
The complainant attached the August 14 Constitutional Court ruling that removed Srettha Thavisin as prime minister and suddenly elevated Paetongtarn to the highest office. Srettha was removed because he violated ethics by appointing Pichit Chuenban, a long-time lawyer for the Shinawatra family, to his cabinet despite the fact that he was in prison for bribery.
According to local media reports, another petition has been submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), demanding that Paetongtarn be investigated for receiving financial benefits as a civil servant during her visit to Khao Yai with her family in July before she became prime minister. The petition was reportedly submitted by “serial petitioner” Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a member of the military-backed Palang Pracharath Party.
These two petitions follow two of the most politically consequential court rulings in recent years. In addition to removing Srettha on August 14, the Constitutional Court also ordered the dissolution of the progressive Move Forward Party in an August 7 ruling because it had promised to change the country’s strict law on defaming the king. (The party quickly reformed under the banner of the People’s Party.)
These new petitions could just be a case of diehard anti-Thaksin royalists seeking to press their advantages – but after this month’s rulings, it is hard to rule out the possibility of further judicial intervention. It is clear that sections of the conservative establishment are concerned about Thaksin’s return to political prominence. Thaksin returned to Thailand in August last year after more than 15 years in self-imposed exile, having brokered a political pact that included Pheu Thai forming a coalition government with conservative and military-affiliated parties – the very forces the party had been battling since Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006.
Since returning to Thailand, Thaksin has flaunted his newfound freedom, traveling around the country, meeting with local politicians and even offering his services as a mediator in the conflict in neighboring Myanmar. His influence has grown even greater since his daughter, a 38-year-old with little political experience, was appointed prime minister and it is widely expected that he will essentially dictate policy to the new government.
Thaksin is on the rise again, breaking his previous promise that he only wanted to return to Thailand to spend time with his grandchildren, and could reignite the two-decade-long political war between Thaksin and the conservative establishment.
Pheu Thai Party officials themselves say they are not concerned about the petitions. MP Wisuth Chainarun told the Bangkok Post yesterday that he was aware of the petition to dissolve the Pheu Thai Party, but denied that Thaksin was in charge.
“I do not see former Prime Minister Thaksin giving any orders to the party,” said Wisuth. “Whenever he attended party meetings, he never gave any orders. In his interviews, he expresses his personal opinion, in his capacity as a knowledgeable former prime minister. Whether the party follows his words is another question.”
Prompong Nopparit, former party spokesman, condemned the petitions against Pheu Thai and Paetongtarn. According to Thai Enquirer, he criticized those behind the petitions, saying that “the plans of these old uncles are evil.”
The problem for Pheu Thai is that, despite claiming to be merely giving his daughter “advice,” it is very difficult to deny that Thaksin is the real force behind the party, and has been since its founding in 2007. Thaksin’s own activities are not helping matters in the slightest. Last week, he delivered his first speech since returning to Thailand, laying out an economic vision for Thailand, supporting his party’s expensive “digital wallet” stimulus plan, and raising concerns about the urgency of tackling Thailand’s bloated private debt. The speech immediately sparked criticism from across Thailand’s political spectrum that Thaksin had overstepped the boundaries of the political pact that had accompanied his return from self-imposed exile last year.
At the same time, Pheu Thai and the newly formed People’s Party appear to be challenging the courts’ powers to discipline and punish opposition parties. Since its formation, the People’s Party has vowed to take on the Constitutional Court to limit its powers to interfere in politics. Meanwhile, Pheu Thai’s Wisut Chainarun, the government’s parliamentary group leader, said this week that he would meet People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut tomorrow to discuss a possible amendment to the law on the dissolution of political parties. He said the ethical conduct law, which the Constitutional Court used to impeach Srettha on Aug 14, was too vague and open to abuse.
While this is clearly the case and profound reforms are urgently needed, attempting to change these legal structures is likely to bring the two sides closer to political conflict.
