The Thai government's first few months and the challenges it faces
In its little over three months in power, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s government has faced a surfeit of challenges, as if it has been in power for over a year.
Some observers say it may appear this way because this government has not had a “honeymoon period” with the media or the public, as enjoyed by its predecessors.
Some of the problems it faces were inherited from its predecessor, such as slow economic growth and lingering political conflicts, while some may stem from its own policies, based on the ruling Pheu Thai Party’s electoral promises.
The most prominent and controversial policy is the plan to hand out 10,000 baht in digital money to all Thai citizens aged 16 and over.
After being hit with severe criticism about the scheme’s potential negative impact on the economy, the government has now altered some of the details.
The latest version released by the Finance Ministry excludes people who earn more than 70,000 baht a month or have more than 500,000 baht in their bank accounts.
Still, some 50 million Thais will be eligible for the handout and an estimated 500 billion baht in state funds will be required to implement the policy.
Despite the prime minister’s eagerness to start the handouts as early as February, the scheme has been stalled as government leaders are afraid it may violate laws relevant to state budgeting and finance.
The Finance Ministry only recently submitted its query about the handout scheme to the government’s legal advisory agency, the Council of State.
Credibility questioned
Another challenge for Srettha’s administration – which assumed office on September 13 – is the way the Justice Ministry and its Corrections Department are dealing with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The former premier returned to Thailand on August 22 to serve his term in prison after 15 years of self-imposed exile overseas. The corruption cases against Thaksin stemmed from his tenure as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.
On the night of his return, Thaksin was shifted from the Bangkok Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital for the treatment of an unidentified condition.
Nearly four months later, Thaksin has not returned to prison to serve his time, which was shortened from eight years to just one year after a royal pardon.
It is widely suspected that he is not in hospital either, while some government figures have chosen not to confirm the whereabouts of the ex-premier.
Thaksin is considered the patriarch of the ruling Pheu Thai Party and is the father of its leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who took the party’s helm in late October.
The government’s seeming indifference over Thaksin’s whereabouts has dented its credibility in the eyes of many critics, who question its performance over law enforcement and the rule of law.
Challenging comments
Another source of challenge for this government is the prime minister’s many “slips of the tongue”, political observers say. His critics pointed out that many of Srettha's remarks could make the public suspicious of him, his party and his government.
In September, Srettha told the media in New York that he would seek advice from Thaksin once the former premier has completed his prison term.
A month later, Srettha joked that there were “two prime ministers present” while standing next to Paetongtarn.
At a meeting with Pheu Thai MPs in November, Srettha said some of them would be disappointed as their requests for the promotion of certain senior police officers would not be granted due to the limited number of posts available. Yet later he denied having anything to do with the annual police appointments.
Tests and trials
Srettha was nominated as Pheu Thai’s PM candidate in the May 14 general election even though he holds no executive position in the party.
His administration is also being hit by other challenges involving difficult political issues, economic problems, and the adverse impact of global geopolitical situations.
The economic problems include high household debts, especially those related to loan sharks, and slow economic growth. The government cites these as reasons why the Thai economy needs the digital wallet handout scheme for a reboot.
Srettha’s government also has to deal with the negative impacts stemming from the ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and the Hamas militant group. Plus there are geopolitical conflicts between the world’s superpowers like the US, China, and Russia.
Tough political issues facing this government include disagreements between rival political groups over a proposal to write a new charter and a bill to grant amnesty to political prisoners, especially those facing lese majeste charges.
Since the current constitution, in effect since April 2017, was drafted after a military coup, critics say it contains undemocratic clauses. There have been moves to amend the charter to allow a new one to be written.
In October, Srettha appointed a committee to draw up the terms for a referendum to determine if a new one should be written.
However, critics say the government appears to be dragging its feet on the matter, while the opposition is building its efforts to rewrite clauses about the kingdom and the monarchy.
As for the proposed amnesty for lese majeste suspects, the government has to deal with a brewing conflict between the proponents and the opponents.
