In Thailand, all roads lead to the Palace

In Thailand, all roads lead to the Palace

Thailand's embattled government may appeal to the King for a solution if an imminent court judgment forces Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her caretaker Cabinet to resign, on the basis that it was the monarch who issued the routine royal command to form a government, after the 2011 elections.

The idea, formally suggested by the government's Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (Capo) on Thursday, is seen as an attempted checkmate to the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) - widely believed to be backed by Bangkok's old royalist elites who detest the Prime Minister's brother Thaksin Shinawatra, believing his popularity and ambition constitute a threat to the monarchy.

PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban has said if the Prime Minister has to resign, he will claim a power vacuum and take the name of a new interim premier to the King.

Petitions to King Bhumibol Adulyadej are nothing new, says Chulalongkorn University political scientist Panitan Watanayagorn. It is also not unusual for petitions to be sent back by the office of the King.

He said: "Suthep has some right to submit a name." But he added: "That would amount to a coup by Suthep and his people."

As for the government's proposed move, it would be a departure from convention.

"The common practice is political parties agree on something before they take it to the King for his approval. You don't want to put the King or the Palace in an awkward situation; that is acknowledged by most political leaders.

"The King has said he does not want to get involved in politics, and he will not do anything beyond the Constitution," said Professor Panitan.

The Constitutional Court is expected to hand down a verdict on a complaint against Ms Yingluck related to the transfer of a top bureaucrat in 2011, by the end of the month. It is widely expected to go against the Premier.

On Thursday, the Capo, headed by Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, said the court would be overstepping its authority if it dismissed the entire Cabinet or suggested a new premier.

Meanwhile, political parties are set to meet the Election Commission next Tuesday to discuss holding another election. The commission has thus far been reluctant to set a date in the current highly charged political climate.

The Constitutional Court last month annulled February's snap polls as voting did not take place countrywide on the same day.

With the public statements on petitioning the King, the struggle for the moral high ground turns the spotlight on the ageing King Bhumibol, 86.

It also focuses attention on the president of his advisory Privy Council, the elderly general Prem Tinsulanonda, a former cavalry officer who was an appointed prime minister from 1980 to 1988.

General Prem, 93, a godfather to generations of elite army officers, is reviled by government supporters for allegedly being behind the coup that threw Thaksin out of office in 2006, though he has denied any involvement.

Last week, he laughed off a suggestion that he could mediate to resolve the five-month-old political impasse, which has seen the February elections sabotaged by the PDRC and no sitting Parliament since December last year.

King Bhumibol, the only monarch most Thais today have ever known, is on paper a constitutional monarch, but in reality is the country's highest moral authority. In millions of homes, he is a father figure; pictures of him share wall space with family portraits.

But he is frail and, as the inevitable succession looms, many Thais fret in private over whether it will be rough or smooth and how the nation will cope.

In an article this week, Thai academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun called the older generation of Thai "statesmen and public intellectuals" the "traditional stabilisers".

"General Prem Tinsulanonda... has actively been pulling strings both behind and in front of the scenes, both during peacetime and in time of crisis," he wrote.

But the "traditional stabilisers have got old and frail. The deep-seated crisis facing the country today derives in part from (their) diminishing power and authority", wrote Professor Pavin.

The twilight of the old guard, which has called the shots in Thailand for generations, is complicating the current struggle to control Thailand's future.

nirmal@sph.com.sg

This article was published on April 19 in The Straits Times.

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.