As the new government’s coalition partner, the Democratic Party’s longstanding rival, PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra, on Thursday urged people to turn to the future and leave the painful past behind.
The new prime minister further argues that the people, especially her supporters and pro-Thaksin redshirts, should move on since the old guard of the Democratic Party is no longer in charge. This is true even though many of the 99 people who died in the massive crackdown on redshirt demonstrators in 2010 were trying to overthrow the Democrat government led by then-prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. It was said that the Democratic Party of today is not the same as it was in the past. This is somewhat accurate.
After his party lost the general election in 2019 and other party leaders chose to join the coalition government headed by then-junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, Abhisit resigned not only as the leader of the Democratic Party but also as the leader of the conservative-royalist party. This is despite Abhisit having promised the public shortly before the election that his party would never join the pro-military parties in a coalition government.
As much as this writer would like to see Thailand move past its two decades of political division and hostility, where Thaksin Shinawatra and ultra-royalist groups constantly conflict, it is unlikely to happen anytime soon for the reasons listed below.
First, no one, not a single major participant, has been held accountable for the deaths or imprisonment of certain families of those who were protesting in the streets and were slain by both sides of the political divide. These relatives are still looking for justice or closure.
Second, for those who are ready to move on, keep in mind that while this may appear on the surface to be a significant step toward the reconciliation of the Pheu Thai and the Democrat, two groups that have long been political rivals, it was actually a very public humiliation and punishment of the party’s old guard and ardent anti-Thaksin supporters, who are primarily from the southern region but were also present in Bangkok.
The current party leadership, led by Chalermchai Sri-on, publicly humiliated and literally discarded Chuan Leekpai, the former PM, House Speaker, and leader of the Democratic Party—possibly the party patriarch—as the party proceeded to join the coalition led by Pheu Thai. Chuan had warned that the party is literally abandoning its pledge and its longtime supporters, as those who voted for the party are supposedly and unmistakably against the Pheu Thai Party and the Shinawatra clan.
In this way, the action can be interpreted as a ploy by Paetongtarn and her father, Thaksin, to punish and humiliate the establishment and their longtime adversaries, especially Chuan Leekpai and Abhisit, and to destroy the party by effectively transforming the Democratic Party into a puppet organization led by a new coalition led by Pheu Thai in exchange for two Cabinet seats held by the current DP leaders.
It appears as though the Democratic Party’s future is more unclear than ever. It’s unclear what they presently support, and some of the existing MPs may even run for office in the future under the Pheu Thai banner. The oldest party in Thailand could be allowed to fall apart.
Third, there is still a great deal of political difference, but the opposition People’s Party has emerged as the archenemy of the Pheu Thai Party, the royalist conservatives, and the Paetongtarn/Thaksin administration. Even early this week, a well-known propagandist for Thaksin said that the People’s Party, the reincarnation of the now-dissolved Move Forward Party, was the “new” Democratic Party and the adversary of those who support Thaksin and the Pheu Thai Party.