By Sanxuan
After the latest Thailand-Cambodia conflict, there is less than a month until the Thai general election.
Currently, all political parties in Thailand have registered their prime ministerial candidates. According to data from the Election Commission, a total of 32 parties have registered 68 prime ministerial candidates, making the election race very intense.
On a roll
Of course, only three parties are eligible to compete for the prime ministership: the Palang Pracharat Party, the People's Party, and the Pheu Thai Party.
The Palang Pracharat Party is the party of the current Prime Minister Anutin, a right-leaning conservative party that is pro-military and royalist. The core of its party platform is that the monarchy must not be defamed.
The People's Party may not be well-known, but it was the largest party in parliament before Anutin dissolved the lower house. Its predecessor was the Future Forward Party, which won the 2023 Thai general election.
Does that name sound familiar now? At that time, the leader of the Future Forward Party, Pita, was a hot candidate for prime minister. Unfortunately, the Future Forward Party was ordered to dissolve by the Constitutional Court for "defaming the monarchy," and Pita himself was banned from participating in politics for 10 years. Members of the party who were not sanctioned had to form a new party, which is now the People's Party.
The Thai General Election Begins
The People's Party inherited the core platform of the Future Forward Party, advocating for legal reforms, reducing the privileges of the monarchy, and seeking the release of political prisoners imprisoned for "defaming the monarchy."
In short, the Palang Pracharat Party is the royalist faction, while the People's Party is the progressive faction, and this is the main reason for the breakdown of their cooperation. Anutin was able to become prime minister because of the support of the People's Party, one of whose conditions was to dissolve the parliament within four months and hold new elections.
Anutin clearly stated that if the People's Party persists in its stance on amending the defamation of the monarchy law, the Palang Pracharat Party would not continue to cooperate with them.
The leader of the People's Party, Nataphon, was not willing to back down either, saying that if that were the case, they would settle the issue in the upcoming parliamentary election, clearly indicating their intention to challenge the Palang Pracharat Party.
Anutin
As a result, the Pheu Thai Party seems to be in a better position. Compared to the other two parties, the Pheu Thai Party has the longest history and the highest profile. It is led by the Thaksin family, which has produced three prime ministers: Thaksin, his sister Yingluck, and his daughter Paetongtai.
However, a few months ago, Thaksin was betrayed by his former friend, the former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The once popular family was accused of "treason," and Paetongtai lost her position as prime minister, along with the Pheu Thai Party being marginalized. This election is a matter of survival for the party.
Yet, the dead end that pushed the Thaksin family to the brink was turned around by Anutin. Earlier this month, tensions flared again along the Thai-Cambodian border, and Anutin's government and military reached an agreement to give Hun Sen's son a lesson and completely subdue Cambodia.
Thailand ultimately achieved most of its goals, a clear victory, and as a winner at the table, Anutin's popularity and reputation surged rapidly. Before that, Anutin's government was not optimistic due to floods and corruption scandals, but now it has received the support of major political families, becoming the strongest underdog.
Thaksin and his daughter
It must be said that Anutin is a skilled politician. He used a sure-win conflict to win public support, pleased the military, and firmly established himself in the Thai political arena, far more experienced than Paitoon, who was betrayed by Hun Sen.
He himself is also confident about next year's election. In his speech on the last working day of the year, Anutin told the entire nation that the bad past year was over, and 2026 would be a vibrant year. He wished people to move forward bravely in the new year. Obviously, this is also his own hope.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/7589587798139748864/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.