Eric Loh

I am looking forward to a peaceful no coup next 4 years with the current coalition.

Don't think this is the case for any deal. He and 5 of his PDRC leaders have been convicted for insurrection and sentenced and out on bail pending appeal. I think this is the case that will be the part of the soon to be announced big reconciliation and amnesty for all political prisoners including Thaksin.

446 yeas and 159 nays. Quite overwhelming considering he only need 376. Quite a lot of abstentions. Would be interesting to see the voting details.

It is an encouraging sign to see that his return has been peaceful devoid of yellow shirts protesters. Even the leaders of PAD and PDRC have not made any comments. I think both colour shirts have moved on and the deep polarisation is fading. In a way, MFP has contributed to this healing of the colour division by speaking out about the old guard and rebuking of the military and political establishment. The Red Shirts are equally divided and leaderless and doubt they will regain their cohesion.

Subtle messaging to senators from the real power.

So far none of the key leaders that lead the crusades against Thaksin have spoken against his return. Songdhi, Chamlong, Somkiat, Suthep, Akanat, Sathit from PAD and PDRC respectively and whom they vowed to overthrow the Thaksin regime and even the Bangkok yellow shirts have remained tight lip. General Sonti who staged the first coup against Thaksin supported his return. They all have done their part for the man behind the curtain. Even Prawit is blaming the elite and conservatives for creating a loop of political conflicts with no better outcome than sufferings for the country and its people.Tomorrow will be just another day. Thaksin will return and Sretha will be the PM.

I doubt the new regime will risk an uprising as a result of a soft coup to have the military remained entrenched as PM and government. The risk of a dynasty caught up with widespread demonstrations that could go beyond anger against the military can't be discounted especially from the younger protesters. History have seen this kind of protests that uprooted the old political structure. I don't think the ultra conservatives would even dare to consider maintaining the old status quo.

A fact doesn't matter kind of guy in Thailand.

Don't need to be a yuan supporter to know that trade in USD is highly volatile. Reason for Thailand and China to look at regulations to support the use of yuan-baht settlement. As it is now, there is a yuan-baht currency swap arrangement for trade and linvestment in local currencies.

The Whisperer and Burapha Phayak faction shoulder the blame. Only Prayut went further than staging a coup, he craved the power of being the PM. He got the blessing from the Whisperer. A new horizon possibility.

The task now is to elect the PM and form the government with the 314 MPs and votes in the lower house and senators if needed. The coalition can squabble over different agenda in the new government. Coalition parties can break off and probably result in a no confidence vote and new election. That's not exactly a bad situation.

Poor generalisation. My accounting staff had an accident, surgery and recovery for 4 weeks. Company paid her surgery and hospitalization. She will report back for work next Monday.

The longer the delay for government, the more the caretaker government will be able to made appointments and place their men in position of power.

I hope that MFP recognize that should the military clique of Prawit & Anutin become the government, they have the power to amend the laws to entrench the traditionalists further in power for the next election. Pheu Thai succumbing to a kind of centrist conservatism to be the government is lesser of the evil than the old power clique.

The only way to prevent Prawit and Anutin becoming PM is in the hands of MFP. While understanding their reasons to vote against the new coalition, they play a very important role to "switch off' the senates votes and render their votes redundant. PTP coalition seem to have secured 315 votes and need 61 votes to attain the 376 threshold for their PM nomination to win. MFP can give them the much needed votes to have the votes secured in the lower house. Have to be seen whether they will stick to their principle and not vote for PTP coalition or they will relent to prevent the Prawit or Anutin from gaining power.

EC unlikely to drop the case as they have already forwarded its recommendation to the Constitutional Court. If he drop the case, EC can be charged for malfeasance. In any case, this shareholding case will only get Pita disqualified as MP. A bigger case of attempting to overthrow the democratic system will get him and party executives banned and dissolution of the party. That will be devastating to the future of the party.

I doubt it will be wise for Thaksin to be back in politics and party. If he made it back home with Yingluck, they will find other ways to express themselves but not in politics. He has done his best to uplift the poor in the neglected North and North-East and to challenge the military dominance. His movement has done much for the awakening of voters empowerment but alas not enough to uproot the military stranglehold on politics. Voters are younger and their aspirations are different from Thaksin's years. His party will still be a key player in elections but days of landslide victory are over.

Samut Sakhon is already a MFP constituency in previous election and followed through to winning in this election. Never been a Pheu Thai stronghold. All ado about nothing.

If they abstain, it would quite an irony when their secretary-general Chaithwat Tulathon supporter an amendment to the charter to strip the power to vote because the senators abstained. Spite the face to be seen as a discipline party then.

Don’t disagree with you. Thailand is embarking a fair bit of renewal energy projects and reducing reliance on coal and fossil fuels. However the government need to address the bread and butter issues of everyday people and the high cost of electricity and is an immediate concern.

What if the caretaker government issued an executive order to extend the senates to another 5 years to prolong the stalemate. I will take my chance with the new coalition government.

If it’s not for the neo-conservatives that hijacked the JV for political justification to be relevant, Thailand would not have to depend on expensive imported gas prices that has handicapped EGAT ability to lower electricity costs for the people. EGAT is heavily in debt and servicing of loans are impediment to lowering the electricity rates. Imported gas prices will remain elevated if the Ukraine war grinds on. The JV is long overdue

Pita Chinese surname is Lim and Thanathorn ancestors are in Fujian. Why the paranoid about Chinese DNA? None of those you mentioned can even speak Mandarin. Overreaction?

As a personal opinion, I agree with you that the next government should not involved the last government parties. In this political stalemate due to the highly skewed charter, it is an option that need to be made. If this mean a peaceful next 4 years, vast majority of Thais may most likely be pleased.

Like it happened with TRT and PTP when they won landslide but still lost in the end. Finally you understand the Thailand political shenanigan. Well done.