Thai king should not rule from here, says Germany

Germany’s foreign minister has said that Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn should not be conducting politics from the European country, where he spends much of his time.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas responded to a question by a Greens member of parliament in the Bundestag on Wednesday at a time that King Vajiralongkorn’s monarchy faces unprecedented calls for reform from protesters in Thailand.

“We have made it clear that politics concerning Thailand should not be conducted from German soil,” Maas told parliament.

“If there are guests in our country that conduct their state business from our soil we would always want to act to counteract that.”

Thousands of protesters have been holding demonstrations in Bangkok over recent months calling for reform of the monarchy to curb the king’s powers and for the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha, a former junta leader, and a new constitution and elections.