Thai political indigestion: the Swedish pantry 2.0

With the growing strength of the reformist opposition

Thai officials may see the current government as their last chance to make a profit with public money.

Thai Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin

takes the oath of office on August 23, 2023. The Phu Thai Party-led government under Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin was formed from 10 political parties and includes ministers from six parties.

The coalition members Bhumjaitai, Palang Pratcharat and Thai Raksa Chart

successfully won 16 of the total 36 ministerial posts, including the domestic, agriculture, energy and education portfolios. This is the first sign of Phu Thai's weak position.

The second''a sign of the fragility of Phu Thai-

coalition

is a reputation for questionable ministers. Tammmanat Promphao, who previously served as deputy agriculture minister in Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha's government before his ouster, has now become agriculture minister. Thammanat's past includes imprisonment in Australia for drug trafficking and an arrest in connection with a murder in Thailand after returning from Australia. Another questionable character in the new coalition government is Chada Taised of the Bhumjaitai Party, who was previously rejected by Prime Minister Prayut. Chada has now been made deputy home minister, an influential position.

The incapacity of Phu Thai

to exert a strong influence on distribution'. 's power is likely to have a dramatic impact on budgetary allocations and the attendant corruption that plagued the previous government. In this respect, his government resembles the so-called 'Buffet Cabinet' of Prime Minister Chattai Chunawan, who held power from 1988 to 1991 and was known for corruption and profligacy with public money. However, Chattai's cabinet may seem hungry compared to the corruption scandals, lack of accountability and abuse of power that are about to happen under the current government.

Thai society

has already gotten a glimpse of what the future may hold when the younger son-in-law of Deputy Interior Minister Chada Taiced, who is now''responsible for pursuing powerful individuals involved in criminal activities and corruption in the political system, was arrested in October in Uthai Thani for attempting to extort money from a water supplier.

In May this year, the Forward Movement Party made significant gains in Thailand's elections.

has increased its parliamentary seats from 81 in the 2019 election won by its predecessor Future Forward to 151 seats in 2023. However, they failed to secure the 276 mandates needed to establish a government on their own. After failed attempts to form a coalition, the political landscape changed in August when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand after 15 years of self-exile, and hours after his''Thai parliament has elected a new prime minister.

The election of Sretta Thavisin

a real estatedeveloper by profession, ended a long political lull in Thailand and established an unexpected alliance between the Phu Thai Party and the powerful conservative elite that had previously forced it out of government through legal or military maneuvers.

However, the Thai conservative elite have stonewalled themselves by preventing the formation of an IFG-led government. They have thus set the stage for the coming tectonic shift in Thai politics. The Sretta government is likely to last its full term due to the uncertainty of the outcome of the next election and, most importantly, the realization that this''Government may be the last opportunity for corrupt officials to eat to their full potential for a long time.

The inability of elites to listen to the voice of the electorate and their reluctance to grow young heirs

Principled leadership dilemma that forced them to enlist the help of Phu Thai and their political rival septuagenarian Thaksin Shinawatra to fend off defeat, at least for now. Following the Future Forward Party's (FFP) success in the 2019 elections, the judiciary acted quickly to address the potential threat, and the party was dissolved in February 2020 by the Constitutional Court. The court found that the party had violated electoral laws by receiving a gratuitous loan from its party leader Tanathorna''Chuangrungruangkit, and thereby committed an illegal financial transaction.

Not satisfying the Future Forward Party after its success in 2019

and instead dissolving the party, they created the Move Forward Party, which is even more ideologically driven and targeted at a wide range of people. FFP founders including Thanathorn Chuangrungruangkit, Piyabutra Sengkanokkul and Panika Wanich were willing to cooperate with the established power for change. However, the IFG proved disinclined to cooperate with the Thai right.

Thai elite

permanently demonstrates an inability to introspect and reform even the smallest elements of the political, economic, social and cultural system. This leads to constant destabilization and''s unwarranted support for elite opponents in Thailand, as seen by the IFG's near total control of the capital Bangkok in the May 14 elections. The Thai elite will likely continue to dodge problems without addressing the serious structural problems of the economy and the political body politic.

The Thai Progressive Movement

the party is ideologically guided by bottom-up movement principles. The party often acts under pressure from its voter base, reacting and making decisions as needed. MFG MPs include genuine working class people who feel all the painful feelings of social inequality. The MFG parliamentary group includes figures from the labor movement, construction workers