By Thai Newsroom Reporters
DE FACTO PHEU THAI BOSS Thaksin Shinawatra could no longer afford to be a carefree, happy-go-lucky power player or underestimate his frenemies’ potential in the face of multiple legal battles which could possibly result in an ouster of his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as elected prime minister and a dissolution of his largest ruling party and their coalition partners, let alone a possible jail sentence for him again, partisan sources said over the weekend.
The billionaire power player who had earlier publicly dared all his opponents and critics to file lawsuits against him at any time has begun to be fully alert and careful to wage the legal war clandestinely fueled by unnamed elements of the powers-that-be to keep him in check.
Not until recently had Thaksin looked nonchalant and overly confident in playing his pivotal role in power bargaining talks behind closed doors and coming to terms with his frenemies, either being among coalition partners and outsiders.
Given the possibility that those who had launched varied lawsuits in pursuit of impeachment of Paetongtarn and all cabinet members and dissolution of the Pheu Thai, plus his being literally put behind bars might be more or less associated with his frenemies, Thaksin would undoubtedly keep a low profile, be more careful with his words and be no longer easily caught off-guard at any given time, according to one source who only spoke on condition of anonymity.
Given the current circumstances under which the largest ruling party, the woman prime minister and Thaksin himself had been considerably vulnerable to the multiple legal battles since he returned home from a 17-year self-exile abroad last year, the de facto Pheu Thai boss had undoubtedly begun to look for ways and means to survive.
“That many of Thaksin’s critics freely passed a premature conviction to the extent that Paetongtarn, the Pheu Thai and himself would finally be judged guilty by court as charged under those lawsuits strengthened his personal resolve to win over them all a second time around,” the partisan source put it.
Thaksin had inarguably lost in the first round of the legal battles which had culminated in a surprise ouster of real estate tycoon-turned-prime minister Srettha Thavisin at a split decision of the Constitutional Court over the last few months, prompting him to manage to name his youngest daughter as head of government in place of the deposed one.
Political activists have earlier filed separate lawsuits against the billionaire power player for allegedly running illicit political activities, albeit in behind-the-scenes fashion, ranging from the alleged domineering and steering of the Pheu Thai rank and file under unrivalled leadership of his daughter, his orchestrating of last year’s setup of the Pheu Thai-led coalition government, allocation of cabinet portfolios among coalition partners and the use of undue influence over the making of government policies in line with his personal views to the dismissal of the Palang Pracharath from the coalition government, among other hush-hush shenanigans in which he had allegedly decisively been involved whilst residing at his Chan Song Lah house or elsewhere.
Whereas the Election Commission and Constitutional Court will be legally obliged to decide whether to take those anti-Thaksin cases into account, the National Anti-Corruption Commission will yet have to determine whether the de facto Pheu Thai boss may have practically staged an alleged fake-out as a “critically ill” patient for a six-month period at Police Hospital to keep himself from being literally put behind bars at Bangkok Remand prison to otherwise serve a curtailed, one-year jail sentence due to power abuse charges which he had evidently perpetrated during his previous premiership.
“Thaksin had been offered a safe homecoming plus an ultimate freedom from prison by the ultra-conservative powers-that-be on condition that he help with an all-out effort to get rid of the likes of the reformist Move Forward.
“Yet, Thaksin’s frenemies would invariably look to take advantage of him or betray him whenever opportunity arises,” the partisan source said without elaborating.
The de facto Pheu Thai boss had discerned the intrinsic, working relationships which the powers-that-be had quietly fostered with his frenemies among certain coalition partners, namely the Bhumjaithai under de facto party boss Newin Chidchob and the Ruam Thai Sang Chart under de facto party boss/former coup leader-turned-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as well as “independent” agencies ranging from the polling agency and anti-graft agency to the Constitutional Court.
Nevertheless, the billionaire power player will undoubtedly see to it that his daughter/prime minister will by no means dissolve the House of Representatives and subsequently call a general election to circumvent a possibly inexorable aftermath of court rulings, the other partisan source said.
The de facto Pheu Thai boss will certainly manipulate to keep his coalition government surviving against all odds and at all costs until the end of the current legislative term scheduled for 2027, given the presumed likelihood that the sooner the next general election is held, the more MP seats the Pheu Thai would lose to the People’s, a resurrection of the court-dissolved Move Forward.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: De facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra. Photos: Thai Rath
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