Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has found steadfast companionship in the latest iPad, which she refuses to let out of her sight wherever she goes on working duties.
The premier has also named several teams of advisers, some of whom contributed ideas essential for formulating government policies during her father, Thaksin Shinawatra’s, stint as prime minister from 2001-2006.
A political source said some critics were struggling to understand how Ms Paetongtarn can strike a balance between keeping the iPad and the advisers in close consultation and not letting them exert dominance over critical decisions she needs to make in running state affairs.
Being the youngest prime minister in the country’s history, she was allowed a brief “honeymoon” period while settling into office.
Ms Paetongtarn succeeded Srettha Thavisin when catastrophic floods were wreaking havoc in the upper North. Wary of the lurking danger of starting on the wrong foot, she declined to approve financial assistance and relief measures to battle the floods until her cabinet had delivered its policy statement in parliament.
In the meantime, military units and teams of volunteers were credited with reaching out to flood victims and jet-skiing food and water to residents stranded on the rooftops of their homes half-swallowed by rising water.
The newly sworn-in government drew flak for fumbling and acting at a snail’s pace to get assistance to flood-hit residents as the rainfall was the heaviest seen in generations in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, bringing garbage and mud that hardened after it filled homes and the water had receded.
Both the ruling Pheu Thai Party and the main opposition People’s Party (PP) were urged by supporters to do more to rehabilitate areas devastated by the flooding. Supporters insisted on a strong display of commitment to restore the region post-floods, which would bode well for Pheu Thai in the next election and reverse its fortunes after having been beaten by the PP in the general election last year.
The PP would also have seen its popularity rise if it had been out and about on emergency response operations or handing out relief supplies to flood victims. However, few party MPs ventured out to offer help after the party said handouts would only reinforce a system of patronage upon which corruption thrives.
The source said the PP blundered by leaving doubt in voters’ minds over whether they could count on the party to stick by them.
In recapping the government’s plan to divert water away from swamped districts last month, Ms Paetongtarn explained during a nationally broadcast, scripted briefing how the floodwater was being channelled out of central Chiang Mai through the Ping River on which the Bhumibol Dam is located.
Reading from her iPad, the premier also mentioned how water could be discharged from downtown Chiang Mai and eventually emptied into the Mekong River.
Ms Paetongtarn was ridiculed over her remark, which centred on drawing away floodwater and pushing it down the Mekong River.
While it is true that parts of Chiang Mai are connected to the Mekong River through tributaries north of the city, the key point had to do with how the water could be diverted that way from central Chiang Mai.
Critics have also accused her of habitually consulting her iPad, even at a high-profile international forum. A case in point was the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit in Doha, Qatar, early last month, where Ms Paetongtarn was reading off her iPad during a one-on-one meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The incident was coined as Ms Paetongtarn’s “iPad diplomacy”.
Ms Paetongtarn later wrote a response on her Instagram to an online comment on how she should wean herself off her iPad.
“Thank you for the advice. Please watch the news and read more information. During meetings like these, leaders across the world read scripts. It’s a commitment. It must be recorded. Everyone reads scripts, from sheikhs to ministers.”
She ended by saying, “Keep an open mind, and you’ll be happier.”
Ms Paetongtarn also had the support of former Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who is serving a 10-year political ban as a result of the Constitutional Court’s order on Aug 7 disbanding the MFP for trying to subvert the constitutional monarchy.
Mr Pita said at the National Book Fair on Oct 10 that Ms Paetongtarn reading from her iPad was no big deal.
“What matters is the substance.
“Everyone makes mistakes when they speak. There’s nothing odd with that,” he said, adding: “Securing aid from an iPad is absolutely fine. It shouldn’t have been an issue in the first place.”
Put on the backburner
The House of Representatives may have voted to reject the proposal to include lese majeste on the list of offences to be pardoned under a new political amnesty bill, but that does not mean the controversial issue is going away, according to political observers.
Thaksin: Keeping a low profile
A total of 270 MPs voted against the offence’s inclusion, while 152 voted to support the push, which is part of a study conducted by a special House committee chaired by Pheu Thai legal expert and PM’s Office Minister Chousak Sirinil.
The report outlined three options: offering amnesty to Section 112 offenders, not offering amnesty to lese majeste offenders, and offering a conditional amnesty.
The report was eventually reviewed by the House after repeated delays due to coalition parties being at odds over whether the amnesty should cover lese majeste offenders. Parties against the inclusion of Section 112 offenders are Bhumjaithai, United Thai Nation, and the Democrats.
Although the House voted against the inclusion of lese majeste offenders, it endorsed the rest of the report, which included the committee’s research into various forms of amnesty that could be pursued as well as its recommendations.
Despite the vote outcome, several observers, including former Democrat leader Jurin Laksanawisit, remain concerned that the proposed amnesty for lese majeste offenders may not be off the table yet.
Four amnesty bills are awaiting House examination, which could be approved for deliberation if government whips decide to place them on the agenda. These bills also cover offences under Section 110 of the Criminal Code, which involves violence or attempted violence against the Queen, heir-apparent or regent.
If the main opposition People’s Party (PP), with 143 MPs, and the ruling Pheu Thai Party, with 141 MPs, support a blanket amnesty bill, their combined votes will secure the majority needed for approval, according to observers.
Pheu Thai has a history of backing blanket amnesty bills and its alleged de facto leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been indicted on a lese majeste charge regarding an interview he gave to foreign media in 2016.
However, Olarn Thinbangtieo, a political science lecturer at Burapha University in Chon Buri, argued that under current political circumstances, the ruling party is unlikely to support such an amnesty proposal as doing so could upset the conservative camp.
If Pheu Thai were to back the amnesty, it would fuel allegations that the party is being used as a tool by Thaksin to undermine the constitutional monarchy, he said, referring to a fresh petition lodged by lawyer Teerayut Suwankesorn with the Constitutional Court.
Mr Teerayut has accused Thaksin and the ruling party of attempting to undermine the constitutional monarchy. The court has yet to decide whether to hear the case, which involves Thaksin’s alleged influence over Pheu Thai.
According to Mr Olarn, Thaksin is believed to be preoccupied with three issues that need to be resolved before he pushes for the amnesty — facilitating the return of his sister, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, from self-imposed exile, pushing for entertainment-casino complexes and pursuing joint development of natural gas and oil in the Gulf of Thailand with Cambodia.
Once the three tasks are accomplished, Thaksin may no longer concern himself with the conservative camp which is relying on him and Pheu Thai to fend off the growing influence of the PP, the reincarnation of the Move Forward Party (MFP), said the academic.
The PP has set its sights on winning enough seats in the next polls to govern the country solo.
Thaksin might then consider joining forces with the PP or reviving the rumoured deal with Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the now-dissolved Future Forward Party, which was the predecessor of the MFP, according to Mr Olarn.
Mr Thanathorn was among politicians who sought a meeting with Thaksin in Hong Kong after the May 14 election last year to forge a MFP-Pheu Thai coalition government.
However, if Pheu Thai is not disbanded and Thaksin’s three priorities are achieved, the party is unlikely to need to mobilise resources to counter the PP in the next general election.
“Thaksin is keeping a very low profile, apparently waiting for these three issues to be resolved,” he said.
The conservative camp, meanwhile, is biding its time, waiting for the PP’s popularity to wane. And when that time arrives, it may no longer need the support of Pheu Thai and the party could face dissolution when it is deemed expendable, according to Mr Olarn.
“So, the conservative camp is keeping a close watch on Thaksin to ensure he has limited freedom to pursue his agenda and to contain the PP’s influence,” he said.