Washington Post Editorial Board Opinion
New hope in Thailand’s peaceful change of government
FOR MUCH of the past decade, Thailand’s establishment — its military leaders, royal household and Bangkok elite — has been insisting that it knows better than Thailand’s people what the country needs. For just as long, Thailand’s people have been pushing back. In an election Sunday, a solid majority of Thais pushed back again. We hope this time that the establishment gets the message — and that the newly elected government in turn will operate in a spirit of moderation and compromise.
In the election, the opposition Pheu Thai Party, led by businesswoman and political rookie Yingluck Shinawatra,won a decisive victory, capturing 265 seats out of 500 in parliament against the ruling Democrat Party (159 seats) and a number of smaller entrants. The winning party is especially popular in rural areas, more so in Thailand’s northern reaches. The Democrats’ base is among the middle class in the capital of Bangkok.
None of this would be all that remarkable, except that incarnations of Ms. Yingluck’s party have won before and the establishment hasn’t responded kindly to its defeat. The military deposed the populist party in a 2006 coup, and when the party came back in a 2007 election, the establishment again tried to block its rule — all in the name of democracy and good government.
The establishment’s suspicions aren’t entirely far-fetched. Ms. Yingluck’s older brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, former party leader and prime minister, amassed a huge fortune and is accused of using government to favor his business interests. He is living in exile in Dubai to avoid serving a two-year sentence for alleged abuse of power in Thailand.
But Mr. Thaksin, his sister and their party obviously remain enormously popular — turnout in the election was 75 percent — and it is time for the Bangkok establishment to accept that reality and settle into life as a responsible opposition. The signs so far are encouraging; military leaders have said that they have no intention of intervening.
Ms. Yingluck’s early moves also give rise to optimism. She has said that she will focus on her party’s economic platform, rather than trying to bring her brother back from exile. She has announced plans to form a coalition with several smaller parties, which could provide reassurance that she’s prepared to accept some give-and-take in governance. Her party’s populist promises could fuel inflation; it will be a challenge to fulfill her promises while keeping the economy on an even keel.
How things turn out matters a lot for the region and the United States. If the kingdom of 67 million people can stabilize its democracy, it will give a boost to other democracies in the region — notably Indonesia and the Philippines — while providing a hopeful example to neighbors suffering under military dictatorship in Burma and communist dictatorship in Vietnam. Stability in Thailand also could help provide a peaceful bulwark against Chinese expansionism and a needed refuge for Burmese refugees fleeing their military’s depredations. With the people having spoken, the political class should take its disputes out of the streets and into the halls of parliament.
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washingtonpost.com/opinions/new-hope-in-thailands-peaceful-change-of-government/2011/07/07/gIQAvpKk2H_story.html
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