Ethics probe into Thai PM Srettha ‘show of force’ by country’s old powers: analysts
- Move against Srettha Thavisin highlights deep-seated political rivalries, experts say
- The prime minister faces potential removal if the Constitutional Court finds his appointment of Pichit Chuenban breached ethics rules
Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 on contempt of court charges after he attempted to bribe a judge presiding over former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s land purchase case with 2 million baht ($55,000) in a grocery bag.
The petition alleged his appointment breached Section 160 of the constitution, which stipulates ministers must be “of evident integrity” and blocks those who fail to meet the grade.
The nine-member bench ruled against suspending real estate tycoon Srettha from office but, if he is found guilty, he could be removed from the premiership.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science and a senior fellow at its Institute of Security and International Studies in Bangkok, told This Week in Asia the court move is a “show of force from unelected powers”.
“Thailand is stuck. We have a government but actually we are ruled by the judiciary... or the military. The military takes over directly and the judiciary derails whoever is in power.”
03:17
Thailand to outlaw marijuana in stunning U-turn just 2 years after drug was decriminalised
If Srettha survives the case - which analysts say is likely - the move may still prove destabilising to the government and erode investor confidence in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, as Srettha struggles to jump-start growth after a decade lost to an army-aligned administration that came to power after a 2014 coup – the country’s 13th military takeover in the nine decades since it moved away from absolute monarchy.
Two of those were aimed at Shinawatra-led administrations. Thaksin was ousted by a 2006 coup while his sister Yingluck was taken out in 2014. Both siblings subsequently fled overseas to avoid convictions linked to graft.
Thaksin, a deeply divisive billionaire telecoms magnate, returned last year in an apparent deal with the royalist establishment that once loathed him. His sentence was slashed; he was held at a police hospital, then paroled, and has since taken an increasingly public profile despite carrying no official political role, while his long-standing lieutenants now stack the cabinet.
That influence appears to have revived rancour from parts of the establishment who still despise the Shinawatra political brand and remain unhappy that Thaksin has not served a single night in jail after a two decade political feud.
The petition against Srettha was “just a warning,” Puangthong Pawakapan, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn University, told the Associated Press, adding that old sores are reopening due to Thaksin’s behind-the-scenes influence on Thai politics.
The deal that allowed Thaksin’s return brought the Pheu Thai party - fronted by political newcomer Srettha - into power heading a coalition of conservatives, despite coming second in the 2023 general election.
The Move Forward Party – a radical, youth-facing political force – was that election’s overall winner with the most votes and parliamentary seats. But it was blocked from forming a government by the conservative Senate and its establishment allies who were rattled by its sweeping reform agenda and the mass appeal behind the party.
In the coming weeks the Constitutional Court is widely expected to dissolve Move Forward for pushing to reform the kingdom’s criminal royal defamation law, which carries up to 15 years in jail per conviction and shields the kingdom’s apex institution - the monarchy - from criticism.
The government now faces the sapping diversion of a court battle, which could see its prime minister removed just as he seeks to sell Thailand as a stable, forward-looking base for foreign investment.
“There are processes and protocols,” Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters. “If there’s an accident, we have other prime ministerial candidates. We don’t want to think about any negative scenarios because it’s hard enough to run the country as a government. Let’s not think about it too much ... it’s giving me a headache.”
Thaksin’s daughter - Peathongtarn Shinawatra - is the party’s leading candidate for the premiership.
“The big picture is (that) the biggest party is about to be dissolved, and now the second biggest is being kept off balance,” Thitinan added.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
