Princess to run for prime minister

THE sister of the king of Thailand said yesterday she would run for prime minister in elections next month, upending the palace’s decades-long tradition of eschewing politics and setting up a surprise contest with the leading military-backed candidate.

Princess Ubolratana Mahidol’s nomination by the opposition Thai Raksa Chart Party marks a shock realignment of Thai politics. The party is linked to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who hard-core royalists have long dismissed as opposed in spirit to the monarchy.

The nomination pits the princess against current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the preferred candidate of the military, considered one of Thailand’s most royalist institutions.

Prayuth, who led the 2014 military coup that ousted Thailand’s last elected government, also accepted his nomination as candidate for prime minister by the Palang Pracharat Party, widely seen as a proxy for the military.

Prayuth had been considered the front runner for the March 24 polls because changes in the constitution and election rules implemented by his government make it difficult for political parties without military backing to capture the prime minister’s post.

But Ubolratana’s de facto alliance with the powerful political machine of exiled Thaksin – whose comeback the military has made every effort to block – puts Prayuth’s supporters in an extremely awkward position. It will be difficult to block her political rise because she will be seen as a representative of the monarchy, the nation’s most revered and respected institution. | A MATCH day programme with an image of Emiliano Sala on the cover, before the English Premier League soccer match between Cardiff and Bournemouth at the Cardiff City Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales, last Saturday. | MARK KERTON PA via AP