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Turn of the political screw in Thailand
Real estate news By Shawn W Crispin
Oct 13, 2007
Thailand’s military-appointed interim government is collapsing, exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s political power base is regrouping, and the prospects for a smooth transition back towards democracy through general elections scheduled for later this year are dimming as the country hurtles towards yet another political crisis. Corruption allegations related to private company shareholdings that recently forced several of current Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont’s cabinet ministers to resign now threaten the interim premier’s own standing. The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) this week grilled Surayud on allegations that he illegally acquired land and built a home in a national forest reserve and have sent their findings to the National Counter Corruption Commission. Surayud recently revealed in a Thai language television interview that he was formerly a jon, which in English loosely translates as “bandit”, but had long ago changed his ways.
The sudden and dramatic split in the executive and legislative branches of the military-appointed government has laid bare the deep differences in outlook between competitive military camps about the political future. The moderate and increasingly isolated Surayud has remained defiant against hard-liner pressures, vowing despite the allegations against him to see through the completion of his term and keep on track democratic polls now scheduled for December 23.
However it is just as likely that the former army commander and privy councilor will be forced to either resign or dissolve altogether his battered and depleted interim administration. Both scenarios would provide political cause for a caretaker administration - likely to be led by either deputy prime minister for security and last year’s coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratklin, or the NLA chairman, former spy chief and coup-operative, Squadron Leader Prasong Soonsiri - to push back or even indefinitely delay the elections. The new bout of political squabbling, this time between moderate and hardline forces inside the armed forces, comes at a time when the newly formed, Thaksin-affiliated People’s Power Party (PPP) is now being predicted by various political pundits to garner the most seats at upcoming polls. The earlier front-running Democrat Party has failed to generate enough funds for a successful election campaign and the party’s drive to penetrate the crucial northeastern region has been hobbled by internal squabbling over leadership and strategy, according to sources close to the party.
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