Flory

Yes, some democracy is better than no democracy. A very salient point. Thailand could already be as developed as South Korea had the military not repeatedly carried it backwards at gunpoint.

A lot of victim blaming going on in this thread. It doesn't matter what you have or haven't done, the courts and generals will decide who gets disqualified and who doesn't (and when). It should be almost impossible for anyone who's been following Thai politics for long enough to not get this. Hard to believe that some of these accounts aren't trolls and/or psy-ops, especially the ones that post nonstop in politics threads with barely readable English.

Pheu Thai used to be the most progressive thing in Thai politics by a mile, even though its platform still included nationalism, monarchism, and big business. MF is unlike anything in recent Thai history and would not have been possible without the mounting dissatisfaction with 2014, Pheu Thai's mis-steps that led to it and subsequent inability to do anything about it, and a changing of the guard at the top.

"refusing to participate in the charade of the regime’s ideology" This is a good way to face jail time in LoS and unthinkable for most Thais, but it's probably the only true way forward!

Re: legislative priorities What if human rights and democratic voting rights are inseparable? I have no issues with equal rights under the law being a top priority, even if it highlights the plight of groups I'm not personally a member of. Moreover, Move Forward is essentially the Thai party of "woke," and they are the loudest and clearest about rooting out the military's influence (lordship) over Thai politics. Make of that what you will. Peua Thai has had every opportunity to take a harder line and failed, prioritizing their patriarch's hostage situation over the Thai peoples' needs.

Unfortunately, the powers that be have these cards remaining to be played: - Two months of dealmaking and subterfuge to prevent Move Forward from getting the votes needed to elect a PM (Senate is a done deal, BJT will be bought off -- it's what they exist for) - Judicial intervention, including disqualification of their preferred candidate or even entire parties - Stirring disarray and rolling the tanks (certainly the last resort but would still happen before allowing their prerogatives to be eroded) They'll have to be patient too due to the size of the victory and the blowback caused by any of these actions, but none of it will be taken lying down. They are very good at this, and we have already seen these games play out so many times before. A majority of Thais want to be able elect their government, and this has been true for a long time now, but a majority is still not ready to lay their lives down to have the right to do so. The main silver lining here is the growing group of people who have finally had the wool removed from their eyes (mostly Democrat to Move Forward converts)