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Looks like Thaksin's had it
Sep. 19th, 2006 03:19 pmIt looks like the military coup in Thailand has succeeded. Let's hope the rebels are serious about early elections. The king has been pretty hostile to previous coup threats from the military but seems at this point to be acquiescent in this one. Hopefully that means he's had some kind of assurances that the army really does intend to return to barracks. The speculation that General Surayudh Chulanont will be the new Prime Minister would tend to point in that direction.
ETA: It's still hard to see how a return to the army acting as political arbiter can be good for Thailand. Nor is it all clear that the coup solves anything. If free elections were held tomorrow Thai Rak Thai would be 99% certain of winning a majority and the Bangkok elite would still be pissed off. The bottom line is that the Thai ruling class is fundamentally unwilling to accept the government that the majority of Thais, for whatever reason, want.
ETA: It's still hard to see how a return to the army acting as political arbiter can be good for Thailand. Nor is it all clear that the coup solves anything. If free elections were held tomorrow Thai Rak Thai would be 99% certain of winning a majority and the Bangkok elite would still be pissed off. The bottom line is that the Thai ruling class is fundamentally unwilling to accept the government that the majority of Thais, for whatever reason, want.
