Thai politics


Thailand
Why Srettha should risk it all for Pita
Posted On January 15, 2024
As Charles E Weller once wrote, "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country". While the quote's original purpose was just a typing exercise, it rings true on occasion, and especially now at a critical crossroads in Thailand's fledgling semi-democracy. Twin trials await former Move Forward Party (MFP) prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat later this month, both in the Constitutional Court, a judicial forum known for its past crippling of Thailand's democratic opposition.
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Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Reinventing Pheu Thai
May 29, 2023

As early as January, in many parts of Thailand, the north in particular, Pheu Thai posters featuring the fresh-faced Paetongtarn Shinawatra were as ubiquitous as rice in the fields. It was, as many had predicted, a sea of red. As soon as Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha dissolved the House of Representatives in March, the consensus was that Pheu Thai and the daughter of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were the consensus frontrunners. Although Paetongtarn was a political neophyte, the party arguably banked on its glory days and a sense of nostalgia to win the hearts of Thai voters. It did not work as many expected. Pheu Thai had to contend with the emerging Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, a charismatic Harvard and MIT-educated member of Parliament and businessman.