Thai king blocks princess from March national election
THAI Princess Ubolratana’s u nprecedented at tempt to become t he cou nt r y ’s nex t prime minister was abruptly ni xed on Saturday a f ter her part y agreed to comply with a command f rom t he k i ng opposing the plan.
The party’s announcement ef fect ively block ing Ubolratana’s candidacy came after a n ex t raordinar y rebu ke by her brother King Maha Vajira long kor n, a nd removes a hurdle for t he ruling junta to hold on to power a f ter t he March 24 vote – the first since a 2014 coup.
The Thai Raksa Chart party, a f f i liated wit h t he powerful Sh i nawat r a pol it ic a l cla n, had announced the princess as their candidate on Friday morning.
The move rattled the status quo and threatened the ambitions of the generals who have c ont rol le d T ha i la nd si nce they toppled the administration of Yingluck Shinawatra a l most f ive yea rs ago. Her brother Thaksin was ousted as premier in a 2006 coup.
But the Thai king torpedoed his sister’s bid i n a sha r ply worded statement t he same day t hat said bringing senior roya l fa mily members i nto politics was against tradition and “highly inappropriate”.
Thai Raksa Chart responded swift ly, cancelling a cam- paign event on Saturday and issuing a statement say ing it “complies with the royal command”.
“Chin up and keep moving for ward! We learn from past experiences but live for today a nd t he f ut u r e,” T ha k si n Shinawatra wrote on Twitter late on Saturday.
Thai la nd has some of t he most severe lese majeste laws i n t he world a nd t he k i ng’s word is seldom challenged.
Royalist Thais and celebrities praised t he inter vention on socia l media a f ter t he order, writ ing “long live t he k ing”.
Others expressed unhappiness with Thai Raksa Chart.
An activ ist who called himself Champ 1984 said he was “disappointed” with the idea of a pro-democrac y pa r t y enlisting a royal family member and would now vote for a dif ferent part y.
Analysts say t he events of t he pa st day w i l l help t he militar y to consolidate power and tilt t he odds in favour of junta chief Pray ut Chan-OCha.
Pray ut is sta nding as premier for t he Phalang Pracha rat pa r t y, a g roup a l ig ned with the regime.
The military has “gained the upper hand”, sa id professor
A nusorn Unno f rom Tha mmasat Universit y, adding t hat it is poised to perform well in t he vote.
Even before Thai Ra k sa Char t’s reversa l, many warned t he palace statement had ended the princess’ chances.
“The pa lace disapprova l i nva l idates her candidacy,” sa id Puangt hong Pawa k apa n, profe s sor of politica l science at Chulalongkorn Universit y.
An Election Commission officia l sa id it is rev iew i ng a l l ca ndidate appl ic at ion s a nd w i l l f i n i sh t he proc e s s t h i s week, t houg h fe w ex pect it to diver t f rom t he roya l order.
Histor ia n Chris Ba ker sa id t hat whi le he cou ld not pred ict what would happen next, the language in the palace statement was strong and “ver y f irm”.
Thailand is a constitutiona l monarchy and has not had a royal run for front line of f ice since 1932 when t he count r y’s absolute monarchy was abolished.
The 67-year-old princess has yet to address the rebuke head on.
She thanked supporters Saturday on her widely followed Instagra m account, say i ng vag uely t hat she wa nted T ha i la nd to “move forward”.
Criticised politicians
The king did not criticise the princess direct ly and seemed to focus bla me on t he pol it ic i a n s who brought her on board.
Both Yingluck and Thaksin live in sel f-ex i le to avoid cha rges which t hey say are politica lly motivated.
Obser vers had said Thaksin and the party would not have teamed up w it h t he pr i ncess w it hout roya l approval.
But the bold play appears to have back f i red dra mat ica l ly on Tha ksin.
“After last night t he k ing’s intervention had an effect of discrediting Thaksin,” Anusorn said.
U b ol r a t a n a i s t he f i r s t-b or n of former king Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away in October 2016 at t he age of 88.
She gave up her roya l titles when she married an American in 1972, but t hey divorced a nd she moved back to Thailand.
Ubolratana is an unusually public f ig ure for a roya l, hav ing sta rred in movies and maintaining an active socia l media footprint.
While she said she was exercising her rights as a commoner to stand for pr ime minister, t he statement f rom t he pa lace sa id she is she is “st i l l a member of t he House of Chakri”, referring to the name of the dynast y.