Bangkok – Two weeks after the Thai Constitutional Court dissolved the famous liberal movement’s Move Forward Party in protest of royal reform, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit insists that everything will go according to prepare for his favorite progressive movement.
As the now-banned chairman of Move Forward’s dissolved origin, Future Forward Party, Thanathorn was widely seen as the architect behind Move Forward’s social giant and is also seen as the guiding hands behind the recently formed third-generation People’s Party.
Some wondered if Thanathorn and Shift Forward’s leaders had mobilize their masses and get to Bangkok’s streets in protest against the judge’s August 7 breakdown decision, probably opening a new orange-garbed chapter in the kingdom’s destabilizing street politics.
Thanathorn declared victory in battle on August 23 in a presentation titled” Sustaining the Pushback against Autocratization” at Bangkok’s Thammasart University, his old school and a historically rife with student animosity. This is forbidden because it could put opponents in 15 years of prison sentences.
He told the audience that his movement aims ultimately for a” soft landing” for the monarchy while insisting “radical problems require radical solutions” and that his “peaceful” vision for Thailand’s transformation “might take decades” rather than years.
In an exclusive interview with Asia Times Southeast Asia Editor Shawn W. Crispin in a rickety school house overlooking the city’s Chao Phraya River, Thanathorn explained why it is time for Move Forward’s disillusioned voters and young supporters to get to the streets and outlined his long-game perspective for Thailand’s transformation.  ,  ,  ,
Asia Times: What effects will the Move Forward party’s recent court-ordered dissolution have on your progressive movement?
Thanathorn: For us, I think the administrative work in setting up a new party is huge. Before the dissolution, the party had like 100, 000 members. Therefore, it will take time to return to the same level.
But otherwise, the court verdict has united us – I think it makes us stronger. I ca n’t recall exactly how many cobras ( MPs who switched to new parties ) there were after the Future Forward party’s dissolution. This time there are zero cobras.
So I think the organization, the movement as a whole has solidified over the years. It’s stronger quantity-wise and quality-wise. Quantity-wise, I mean the numbers of supporters. Quality-wise, I mean the understanding of our ideologies, our ideals and ideas – people understand us more.
Asia Times: It’s happened twice now. Who exactly is dissolved by your affiliated parties, and why?
Thanathorn: I think the’ why’ is clear. The why is that we are a threat to the system of too many individuals, not to any specific organizations, but to the system as a whole. So I think that’s the’ why’ – we are a threat. The’ who’? It’s difficult to say, I do n’t really know.
Asia Times: MFP won 32 of 33 Bangkok seats at last year’s election. What does the outcome say about the closet elite’s support for MFP as the heart of economic and political power?
Thanathorn: Well, I think not only in Bangkok. If you look at other provinces, many provinces, we won the party list vote even though we did n’t win many constituency MPs. That demonstrates how widespread is the need for change. People still voted for this party despite the fact that it is accused of overthrowing the monarchy. So people demand change.
It’s safe to say not only Bangkok, but yeah, of course, the sentiment of people in Bangkok is the sentiment of
Thailand, right? That’s what they say. So I think when we won hugely in Bangkok, it terrifies them.
Asia Times: Do you believe that the election results indicate that members of the royal family secretly support your cause? That people in the royal family still support the changes you’re calling for?
Thanathorn: People understand that we have no … that, that reforming the monarchy is the soft landing, the best way to go for Thailand. People put their trust in us because they know that, and I believe they do so.
Asia Times: Do you believe you have more backing from those who were more in tune with the previous monarch than perhaps the current?
Thanathorn: Difficult to say, difficult to quantify. However, we can see that many royalists who are educated believe that a soft landing is the best course of action.
Asia Times: So with all the support you have in Bangkok, why has n’t there been a popular response to the MFP dissolution decision? Why have n’t we seen anything on the streets?  ,
Thanathorn: Because, on the one hand, I believe the party has planned this in advance and mentally prepared the electorate for the election of 2027. So we sort of agree on that now.
Because at the time, we did n’t prepare the people’s mentality, the Future Forward party and the Move Forward Party are totally different from one another. So people were angry. And people were not sure if we could survive the dissolution, but we did.
And now, talking many months in advance]we prepared the people for possible dissolution]. And if it occurs again, we’ll form a new party and hold elections until 2027. And I believe that in 2027, the direction will reach its peak. So people did n’t lose faith, did n’t go to the street in protest.
Asia Times: Do you believe that the protests could occur naturally as they did in 2021 with the student protests against the monarchy, even if Move Forward/Future Forward does not organize them?
Thanathorn: If in 2027 the People’s Party wins the election and cannot form the government, you know it’s gonna break.
Asia Times: Given the threat it poses to democracy, why has the party shied from publicly organizing protests against the dissolution decision for royal reasons?
Thanathorn: You talk about change. I want to see a peaceful transition. It has to be peaceful, right? So we will continue to do this unless and until we are completely convinced that the parliamentary approach cannot result in a peaceful transition.
Asia Times: Does the inability to act on the backs of the majority of voters only serve to stifle anti-democratic forces that defend establishment interests? That as long as there is no response, they will continue to dissolve your parties. Do n’t you eventually have to respond?
Thanathorn: No, because I think if you look back at what happened, we prepare for this. People had their minds set aside for this. There’s anger, of course, on]dissolution ] day. There was anger, there was sorrow on that day. However, others are aware of what we’re going to do.
We made it clear that we would form a new party and that we would run in the 2027 election. So I think that’s that’s why there’s no student protest this time around, because we communicated months earlier in advance.
Asia Times: Because the dissolution was for royal reasons, protests could target palaces or royal symbols?
Thanathorn: Potentially.
Asia Times: Is there a chance that your affiliated parties will outshine your party’s leadership if they start using salami-slicing tactics gradually to erode support for FF/MFP/PP and its third-string generation of leaders? That the third generation may not have the same level of support and resonance as you did, which has also outlawed Pita Limjaroenrat?
Thanathorn: I have total faith in the third generation leadership. I believe that time strengthens them. For example, Tang, ( Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, the new People’s Party leader ), he will be 40 at time of the 2027 election, the same age when I set up the Future Forward party.
He’s really, really bright, smart – and very firm ideologically speaking. Very firm. So that’s one of the things I’m proud of: To be able to take/bring this new generation of politicians into the spotlight.
Could a youth-focused Peua Thai replace Paetongtarn Shinawatra ( 38 ) as the country’s youngest prime minister ever?
Thanathorn: No. It’s about organization structure, the way they recruit MPs is totally different from the way we recruit
MPs. ]For Peua Thai] you have to have family names. You have to be somebody.
But for us, show me if you are good enough to get the position. For example ,]PP spokesman ] Parit]Watcharasindhu], you know Parit. He’s 30 years old, and he’s the chairman of political development, commission of development.
At the age of 30, he did n’t contribute financially, He got this position because of his capability, because he’s hardworking, because he has proven himself to the people inside the party. So he gets this position.
Or Rangsimon Rome. He’s 31 and he’s the chairman of the parliamentary border issue commission. So here in this party, it’s all about your capabilities, your potential, your contribution to the party. It’s not about your family names. It’s not about your chip amount.
So that’s why I think organization structure is very important. We set it up in this manner, and doing so makes us capable.
Asia Times: Imitation is the most flattering flattery: Is Peua’s use of a young leader at the top not an attempt to copy your model?
Thanathorn: It’s not about being youthful or not being youthful. I think the content is more important than the presentation. What do you offer the Thai people, in terms of content? And is it novel or novel?
It’s not about age of the leadership. It is about the content, about offering the right policies to the Thai people. What kind of Thailand do you want to create for the Thai people? And I think that defines forward thinking.
Asia Times: Some feel]Peau Thai party patron ] Thaksin Shinawatra is as part of the system, the oligarchs, the big business monopolies, you want to change. Is it even possible for a member of the Shinawatra family to influence the change, taking into account their past, where they came from, and who they are?
Thanathorn: If theywanted to do it, they would have done it by now. It’s how many months now? A year?
Asia Times: How long can you really play the long game? You received the news that you had purchased Pridi Banomyong’s [revolutionary who overthrew the absolute monarchy in 1932 ] old house in France. Are you getting ready for the day so Thaksin can leave?
Thanathorn: No, no, no – that was symbolic … The future is interesting. I’m not sure how and when. However, I think things will change. When you talk to the people on the street, you ca n’t resist the change, the opinions of the people. It’s tangible, the view of change, its very tangible.
Asia Times: And history demonstrates that the spark frequently comes from an unforeseen circumstance?
Thanathorn: I think the people at the very top, they are very detached from ordinary people. They do n’t understand what ordinary people are thinking. They reside in a different world. They do n’t respond to people’s calls.