Poster-boy tycoon tries to oust junta
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit is no stranger to risk. In business, he transformed his family firm into an Asian car parts empire after taking the helm aged 23 following his father’s death.
In his spare time the dashing entrepreneur is an extremesports aficionado who has completed endurance races in the Alps, run a marathon in the Sahara and been rescued from a Japanese mountainside.
Now the Nottingham University graduate has taken on his greatest challenge – plunging into Thailand’s turbulent politics as a strident critic of the ruling junta in the world’s most coup-prone nation.
Five years after the armed forces seized power, the country will go to the polls on March 24. Bolstered by the probable support of military appointees in the new parliament, Prayut Chan-o-cha, 64, the coup leader and current prime minister, hopes to retain office.
Yet Thanathorn, 40, has shaken up the political landscape with his new Future Forward Party, which combines an antijunta agenda and calls for income redistribution served up with digital savvy. Among his legions of young social media admirers, some appear as motivated by his dreamy looks as his progressive politics, dubbing the father of four ‘‘Daddy’’, in reference to a popular soap opera character.
However, his strident criticisms of the military government, calls for a reduction in the size of the armed forces and an end to conscription have made him powerful enemies.
Indeed, the charismatic campaigner already knows all about the risks entailed in taking on the Establishment. He faces five years in jail under sweeping data laws if he is convicted of charges of spreading false information about the junta.
‘‘The charge is politically motivated but this is what happens when you challenge the system,’’ he said.
The party has also faced demands from some opponents that it should be disbanded for allegedly being critical of the monarchy. It is a powerful accusation in a country where the royal family is revered. It is an accusation also strongly denied by the party.
Another new opposition party was dissolved last week for nominating a princess as its candidate for prime minister. The Thai Raksa Chart Party was ruled to have violated the constitution by seeking to involve the royal family in politics by putting forward Ubolratana Mahidol. Her candidacy lasted only a few hours before King Maha Vajiralongkorn, her younger brother, issued a stern rebuke.
It is not surprising that before Thanathorn entered the political fray his first hurdle was to secure the approval of another formidable figure – his mother, Somporn. When he told her his plans, she was far from convinced. ‘‘She was worried for me and my security and for the family and the business,’’ he said. – Sunday Times