It is getting fun to watch what is going on in Thai politics, both sides are in what could be called a political food fight. Some of the accusations are so absurd it clearly calls for some popcorn as Thai politics has clearly entered into an entertaining stage.
So after a prolonged battle that involved everything from tanks to lawsuits, Thai politics has entered into a pause as both sides are still trying to look for a safe place to stand that does not have some organic content.
There is backstabbing going on in the auditor-general’s office as well as ship jumping. There is name calling and the twisted spin on things that resembles a pretzel. In short things look like they are getting back to normal.
Starting off with the obvious, it is all about power at this point and self serving actions on both sides. Nothing seems clear as Thaksin has been out of the news for a significant time. The focus on Thaksin has now drifted to a general sense he may be out of the game and politicians attacking their personal political foe is coming back to the front burner.
But that is not to say Thaksin is completely out of the game. He is having a go as well but not on a big scale. If the news reporting is accurate, it appears a member of Parliament went to have a chat with Viktor Bout who is accused by the US as being a major arms smuggler made famous by a Hollywood movie. The reason for the visit was to ask questions in hopes to connect a few dots himself. However Thaksin has already come down both feet looking to sue the MP for accusing him of something to do with arms smuggling. Unfortunately that is already DOA because it was questions and not statements the MP made. The fact the meeting became public knowledge is secondary and not against any law. However the fact Thaksin acted with such aggression suggests there may be some meat to this topic and will no doubt cause people to look.
Some Pheu Thai Party (PTP) MP’s decided Thaksin’s ship was sinking as well and voted against the grain and supported the new budget. That most certainly will lead to a political beheading in the PTP that will get a lot more media coverage than it is worth. A vote is a vote and to be punished for being democratic is laughable.
There is also the occasional M79 RPG that is being fired about as someone is angry things are not going their way. Already the first reaction is the person who fired the M79 is associated in some way with Thaksin. Unfortunately for Thaksin, that reputation being linked to violence is here to stay. That is why the Viktor Bout thing has some interest on so many levels.
Even the Red Shirts are finding it hard to pull things together. Their reputation has made all but the most radical take off their red shirts. With rallies designed to shift the blame for the violence they caused to others coming up with only a few hundred people, they too may be looking at the unemployment line very soon. It is hard to tell if they are foolish or desperate at this point. It seems Thaksin has very possibly abandoned them as he looks to clean up his international image.
All and all it seems the next month or so will be dominated with observing political wounds being administered, without much significant substance. In a way that is both good and bad. The good is the calm, the bad is knowing the problems will be back once Thaksin gets back in the news.
