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August 23, 2024

The Judicial Wall

The ruling party in Thailand’s parliament, Pheu Thai, recently nominated Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 37-year-old daughter of billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as the Southeast Asian country’s next prime minister. Usually, such an announcement would signal a resolution to political instability and the start of a new...

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August 19, 2024

Dynasty’s Restart

Thailand’s king on Sunday formally endorsed 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the new prime minister less than a week after the ousting of her predecessor, an appointment that underscores the possible comeback of the famed but controversial Shinawatra political dynasty, Al Jazeera reported. King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s endorsement...

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August 15, 2024

Ejected

Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office on Wednesday for violating ethical standards by appointing a minister who had served jail time, a ruling that deepens the country’s political instability, Reuters reported. Judge Punya Udchachon said the court voted 5-4 to sanction Srettha’s...

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August 08, 2024

Repeat Offender

Thailand’s constitutional court dissolved the pro-democracy Move Forward Party (MFP), ruling it attempted to undermine the country’s royal defamation law during last year’s election campaign, a verdict observers said underscored a pattern suppressing democratic movements in the Southeast Asian nation, the South China Morning Post...

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July 12, 2024

The Other Old Guard

Thailand this week certified the results of its first Senate race since the 2014 military coup, with conservative lawmakers emerging as the biggest group and overshadowing candidates linked to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s ruling Pheu Thai Party, Bloomberg reported Thursday. More than half of the 200...

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May 30, 2024

Weaponizing Insults

Thai authorities on Wednesday accused former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of violating the country’s strict royal insult laws, the latest twist in a long-running saga against one of Thailand’s most influential political figures, CNN reported. The charges stem from comments he made during an interview with...

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May 09, 2024

Just Say No

Thailand will recriminalize cannabis by the end of the year, according to Priem Minister Srettha Thavisin, a major U-turn for the Southeast Asian nation two years after it became the first in the region to decriminalize the drug for recreational use, the Independent reported. On Wednesday,...

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May 01, 2024

A Wan Smile

A single clinic on Thailand’s border receives 500 refugees fleeing neighboring Myanmar’s civil war every day as Myanmar’s military fights pro-democracy and local ethnic rebels, reported Sky News. Critics told Nikkei Asia that the Thai government was not prepared to handle the approximately 90,000 refugees that...

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April 04, 2024

The Perpetual Outsiders

Thailand’s constitutional court agreed Wednesday to consider a case that could lead to the dissolution of the opposition Move Forward Party, a decision that dealt another blow to the country’s anti-establishment movement advocating for major institutional reforms, Reuters reported. The case stems from a complaint filed...

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February 07, 2024

No Way Out

Thailand’s state prosecutors said on Tuesday they were reopening an investigation into former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s alleged violation of a strict royal insult law, just weeks before he was expected to be released after serving a sentence for corruption, the Associated Press reported. Thaksin was...

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September 22, 2023

Total Recall

Thailand’s new government is planning to restrict the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, a year after the country approved a landmark policy to decriminalize the narcotic, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced that his 11-party coalition is seeking to “rectify” the country’s cannabis...

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August 23, 2023

New Beginnings

Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin secured enough votes in parliament to become Thailand’s new prime minister Tuesday, finally ending the political deadlock in the Southeast Asian country following May’s elections, CNBC reported. Srettha, a candidate of the populist Pheu Thai Party, received 482 votes, including from...

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August 17, 2023

The Tricky Dance

Thailand’s Constitutional Court dismissed a petition that challenged parliament’s decision to block the leader of the election’s leading party from being renominated as a prime ministerial candidate, a ruling that could end the political deadlock that began following May’s vote, Nikkei Asia reported Wednesday. Since May,...

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August 03, 2023

Lost Winner

The Move Forward party will not be part of Thailand’s future coalition government, according to a former ally, the latest blow for the progressive party that won the most seats in the country’s general election in May, the Associated Press reported. On Wednesday, coalition partner Pheu...

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July 20, 2023

The Unwanted

Thailand’s parliament blocked Pita Limjaroenrat from being nominated for the post of prime minister Wednesday, the second time lawmakers rejected the candidate whose progressive Move Forward Party won a surprise victory in May’s election, the Washington Post reported. Pita had assembled a coalition of parties holding...

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July 12, 2023

Making Way

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha will not seek reelection and is to retire from politics, his party announced Tuesday, a decision that comes two months after a parliamentary election that saw voters overwhelmingly reject the country’s military-backed rule, CNN reported. The announcement came just two days...

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May 16, 2023

Checkmate

Two Thai opposition parties secured the largest share of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary polls, delivering a stinging rebuke to Thailand’s military leaders who have ruled the country since their 2014 coup, the New York Times reported. Election results showed that the progressive Move Forward Party...

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May 11, 2023

Family Business

Thai political candidate Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, who is the frontrunner in upcoming national elections, recently gave birth to a son, Pluenkthasinsuksawat, known by his nickname, Thasin. The baby might have brought her luck. Paetongtarn, the scion of a family of prime ministers from the opposition populist...

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