Ex-PM draws 1, 400 at company conference in primary post-pardon presence as a star
![Band of Billionaires: Thaksin Shinawatra sits next to Sarath Ratanavadi, CEO of Gulf Energy Development, and Dhanin Chearavanont, former chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, ahead of the “Vision for Thailand” forum at which the ex-premier was the headline attraction, on Thursday evening in Bangkok. (Photo: Reuters)](https://static.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20240822/c1_2852007_240822223145.jpg)
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra claimed on Thursday that no political arrangement was reached with his liberal foes to permit his return from 15 years of exile next month.
The parents of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the party’s father, Paetongtarn’s father, said during an on-stage exam at a community co-hosted by a local media team,” There is no offer, no one dares do a deal with me.”
On the day he returned to Thailand in August, he was given an eight-year prison sentence that was afterwards reduced to a month by a royal pardon. He previously spent a night in jail, spending most of his time at the officers General Hospital before receiving pardon in February. A few days ahead of schedule, a royal forgive last year made him a free man.
Thaksin added that the Pheu Thai government was worthy of halting the country’s economic crisis and that the country’s weariness would not get worse.
He also indicated that the group’s premier 450-billion-baht digital budget handout plan is needed to improve the sluggish market.
Our nation has grown quietly for a long time, he said, so we need to boost the economy.
“]The handout ] will be an immediate economic boost in September”.
There is a lot of speculation about whether the flyer could be drastically reduced and aimed solely at the really poor. Pheu Thai insists that it will continue in some form, maybe even as money in place of digital money.
” Little steps of isolationism”
In a wide-ranging speech, Thaksin even said Thailand should do more to protect the business from an influx of low-cost Foreign products, applying” little ways of protectionism”, he said.
” We do n’t dislike Chinese products but we have to find equality in competition”, he said.
When it came to interest charges, he said, the state and the Bank of Thailand should be able to speak, without affecting the university’s freedom.
In any case, he said, the nation must immediately address its high rates of private and public debts and put its focus on implementing measures to increase its growth rate in line with those of its neighbors in Southeast Asia.
The two-time leading said in a speech titled” Vision for Thailand” that” Thailand and its citizens are trapped in debt and that a debt restructuring program to protect the households and businesses should be pursued.  ,
In Bangkok, Thaksin addressed a gathering of more than 1,400 bankers, company executives, and politicians, pointing out that the finance minister and other ministries may take the lead in reducing the serious debt problem.
The occasion marked Thaksin’s spectacular return to Thailand after he fled fraud claims in 2008, which was also celebrated at the occasion.  ,
While Thaksin is unlikely to believe any formal or social position in the new government, he is expected to possess significant impact on Paetongtarn government’s plans.
Paetongtarn, who is still in the process of finalising her cabinet, faces the challenge of reviving an economy stifled by a near-record household debt, sluggish exports and the high cost of living.