Today the Thai Constitutional Court ruled that the PPP and Chart Thai parties must be dissolved due to election fraud committed by an executive member of the party. The 2007 Thai constitution states that if a party executive is found guilty of election fraud, that not only is that member banned from politics for a period, but the party is dissolved.
The verdict should not surprise anyone watching Thai politics. After the case first emerged a few days after the December election, many believed that the decision was a foregone conclusion. The Thai Constitutional Court was created and the majority of its members appointed by the political enemies of the current government. A more cynical person than I might say that the justices were not objective. I would never make such a claim, particularly since speaking out against the court's verdict can land one in hot water.
So the court did what the demonstrator's did not. They brought down the current government. Actually, the protesters did prevent the government from amending the constitution to prevent the dissolution of the PPP. Of course, occupying the international airport had absolutely nothing to do with stopping the government from amending the constitution. It kept the PM from landing in Bangkok, but not from landing in Chiang Mia. Chiang Mia is the PPP stronghold, and the PAD protesters would have no success occupying its small airport.
Now that the government has been deposed, the PAD (protesters) won, right? Well, if by win you mean wrecking your economy, making Thailand look like a third rate nation, and ending up with a government controlled largely by the same people who are running the government right now, then yes, they were very successful.
The dissolution of the government does not require new elections. Although two parties are dissolved, only those who committed fraud lose their MP seats. The Peau Thai party has already been created for members of the PPP and Chart Thai (possibly) to join. Incidentally, the leader of the new party is Thaksin's cousin. The other government coalition members have already said that they will join them in forming a government. So there will be a new PM and cabinet, but it will not be made up of the PAD's allies.
After six years here in Thailand, we moved back to the U.S. Instead of returning to Ohio, we settled into California.
Showing posts with label ppp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ppp. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Cooking Bad for Your Career?
The Thai constitutional court has ruled that Prime Minister Samak was ineligible to hold the PM post and has dissolved his leadership and cabinet. What did PM Samak do to incur the wrath of the Thai court? He simply cooked.
Actually, he did a bit more than cook. PM Samak is quite well known here in the Kingdom for his cooking prowess. Prior to becoming PM, he was hosting a cooking show on one of the Thai TV channels. He continued the weekly show after assuming the PM duties.
The problem is that the Thai constitution states that the PM may not have any employment outside the government. Since the television station paid PM Samak a salary for his show, the court ruled that he had outside employment. Instead of allowing him to correct that by resigning from the show, they invalidated his government, requiring Parliament to chose a new PM and cabinet.
The Thai court ruling did not necessarily mean a permanent end to Samak's role as PM. He was not punished or banned from Parliment, and indeed still held his seat. He could simply resign from the television station and the MP's could once again vote him as PM. This would essentially make the Thai court's ruling moot. At first, it appeared that this is exactly what would happen. After the ruling, key PPP (People's Power Party) members indicated that they would support PM's Samak's return to power.
Unfortunately for PM Samak, things are not always as they appear in Thai politics. Within a few days, support for PM Samak had evaporated, and it became clear that he would not be PM. He resigned from the head of the PPP party.
Perhaps what is the most interesting is that former PM Thaksin, who many claim is pulling the strings for the PPP, supported Samak's return as PM. Its not clear whether Thaksin's influence has waned after his flight to England to avoid prosecution, or whether he really supported Samak.
Actually, he did a bit more than cook. PM Samak is quite well known here in the Kingdom for his cooking prowess. Prior to becoming PM, he was hosting a cooking show on one of the Thai TV channels. He continued the weekly show after assuming the PM duties.
The problem is that the Thai constitution states that the PM may not have any employment outside the government. Since the television station paid PM Samak a salary for his show, the court ruled that he had outside employment. Instead of allowing him to correct that by resigning from the show, they invalidated his government, requiring Parliament to chose a new PM and cabinet.
The Thai court ruling did not necessarily mean a permanent end to Samak's role as PM. He was not punished or banned from Parliment, and indeed still held his seat. He could simply resign from the television station and the MP's could once again vote him as PM. This would essentially make the Thai court's ruling moot. At first, it appeared that this is exactly what would happen. After the ruling, key PPP (People's Power Party) members indicated that they would support PM's Samak's return to power.
Unfortunately for PM Samak, things are not always as they appear in Thai politics. Within a few days, support for PM Samak had evaporated, and it became clear that he would not be PM. He resigned from the head of the PPP party.
Perhaps what is the most interesting is that former PM Thaksin, who many claim is pulling the strings for the PPP, supported Samak's return as PM. Its not clear whether Thaksin's influence has waned after his flight to England to avoid prosecution, or whether he really supported Samak.
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