Thaksin’s return and a new government: What’s next for Thailand?
Party once opposed to military government gets military’s backing to form new administration.
Thailand’s democracy enters another phase just as a towering political figure from its past returns from exile.
Thaksin Shinawatra was whisked from the airport to prison to start serving an eight-year sentence.
But there is strong speculation that he and his Pheu Thai party have an arrangement with the powerful military for his return and for the formation of a new government.
The Move Forward party, which won May’s election, is meanwhile sidelined.
The country’s democracy has been fragile – with governments overthrown by the generals who remain in overall control.
So what’s next for Thailand? And what will the public reaction be to the latest political manoeuvres?
Presenter: Laura Kyle
Guests:
Punchada Sirivunnabood – Specialist on Thailand’s electoral system and an associate professor at Mahidol University
Duncan McCargo – Professor of public policy and global affairs at Nanyang Technological University and co-author of, The Thaksinisation of Thailand
Kasit Piromya – Former foreign minister of Thailand, Democrat Party politician and former Yellow Shirts activist