Thailand PM: ‘most popular’ Thaksin Shinawatra could play government role after jail release, ‘unwise’ not to tap him

PM Srettha Thavisin says Thaksin can add value to the government, and that the ex-PM is the ‘most popular’ leader in Thai politics
His comments come after Thaksin’s jail term was commuted to one year from eight years previously

Thailand

Bloomberg

Published: 1:45pm, 21 Sep 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that he sees Thaksin Shinawatra playing a role in government once he is freed from prison – a sign of how the former premier continues to loom over the nation’s politics.

“I believe he has value to add to the government and to the people of Thailand,” Srettha said during an interview in New York on Wednesday. The new premier is seeking to revive an economy whose growth has lagged neighbours during nearly a decade of military rule.

Forced to flee in 2008 to evade corruption charges, the 74-year-old Thaksin returned to Thailand last month after 15 years of self-imposed exile, arriving hours before Srettha was voted in parliament as prime minister. Srettha’s win came with the help of the Senate, in an arrangement widely seen as part of a deal between the royalist pro-military establishment and Thaksin.

Thai king reduces former PM Thaksin’s prison sentence to one year

Prime minister from 2001 until a coup in 2006, Thaksin still carries sway as the patriarch of a family that has dominated Thai politics for two decades despite having been found guilty, in absentia. Upon his return, he was sent to jail to serve eight years and moved soon thereafter to a police hospital after complaining of chest pain and high blood pressure.

Within days, Thaksin petitioned King Maha Vajiralongkorn for a royal pardon and, in turn, got his sentence commuted to just one year. His family is currently looking at the possibility of securing his early release on parole.

“He was, and probably still is, the most popular prime minister in the history of Thai politics,” the Thai leader said of Thaksin who is considered an influential figure in Srettha’s Pheu Thai party. “Obviously, that comes with good reasons and if he becomes free it would be unwise of me not to seek his opinion and other prime ministers as well,” he said.

03:20

‘They’re all dead’: Severe plankton bloom in Thailand killing marine life and people’s livelihood

Srettha’s attendance at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly marks his first overseas engagement since taking office earlier this month. He is Thailand’s first new leader in nearly a decade after the military establishment seized power in a 2014 coup that ousted Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s younger sister.

The new prime minister is seen as the more palatable choice for Thailand’s conservative royalist establishment after the military-appointed Senate blocked Pita Limjaroenrat’s premiership bid when his reformist party pushed to relax the country’s law that penalises insulting the royalty.

Thailand soothes fears over visa scheme for Chinese visitors

After more than 30 years in the private sector, Srettha acknowledged his political inexperience as he dismissed any concerns over the durability of his ruling coalition.

“I believe it is a very, very stable government,” he said. As to what role Thaksin might play in the new government, that is less clear. “Let’s play by ear,” Srettha said.