mfd101

There'll be the quick'neasy fixes, largely symbolic (cancel submarine, 10% rise in minimum wage, gay marriage, fiddle with the constitution, law enforcement including on the roads ... ) and then there's the real social & cultural change stuff that will take decades (corruption, police, military, education ...). As for this 'gay' (actually rather serious & sober) pensioner, the moment the gay marriage bit comes thru we'll do the deed to strengthen my position here in the event that my b/f (40 years younger than me) dies before me (which, given his driving skills, is not entirely impossible (sigh)).

Spoken like a statesman. If he actually makes it to PM and leader of a strong & cohesive government, he'll probably - as he moves up his learning curve - make a leader of Thailand of a quality & strength that noone has seen for many many years. People of good will can only wish him great success in this huge enterprise.

Good sign - a not-insignificant part of the bureaucracy preparing to welcome the new boss.

Must be my failing eyesight.

And The People let it happen because they're too lazy to line up to vote, and too lazy to protest. As in every country The People get what they vote for, or fail to vote against.

It's supposed to be an El Niño year, which - if it turns out thus - will mean a light monsoon. Whence the predictions from the meteorology people of not much rain in June & July.

I didn't recognize Yingluck. She looks about 25.

Talking to the police about police corruption is obviously a good start.

Yes but not before The People's stolen assets have been rescued!

Ukraine is after F16s. Though of course they would want them air- and combat-worthy ...

As you lie dying in the middle of the road you should make sure your wallet and credit cards are safely secured under your bottom.

Yes, which is to say that - at least till Future Forward/Move Forward came along - Thai politics has long been and still largely remains non-ideological. It's all about that basic Thai cultural concept: Status (= power + money + appearances). Are things at last changing to what to a Westerner seems like 'normal' politics (Left vs Middle vs Right, however defined)? We shall see ...

It's good to see justice being done. Meantime, in Thailand ...

The point of course is that very little that's good can come out of 2 months' interregnum. All it does is give the Unreconstructibles time to organize to prevent the new government from launching its program to move Thailand gently in to the C21st.

One obvious question is: Why does the Electoral Cmn take 2 months to officially 'declare' the outcomes of the national election, when it's already published who won what seat? [cf Australia a year ago: The federal election was on a Saturday. The leader of the new winning party (and therefore new government) was sworn in as PM the following Monday and immediately flew off to Japan for important security talks.]

The lower house could - if it has the guts - simply ignore the Senate on the basis that its very existence is unconstitutional, the current 'Constitution' was imposed unconstitutionally & undemocratically etc etc. And surrounded by 500,000 voters camped outside, the new government could begin governing. Who would cave in first? It's all a matter of guts and endurance.

Lelak! Lelak! Buddha in charge. Everyting OK.

(Yawn). Quelle surprise!

What any sensible person would do.

Why would the rich do that to themselves?

BBC was fine (and free).

Charles just looked exhausted. At least till the balcony scene when he managed a little animation. (Admittedly almost any movement could make the crown fall off or go skew-whiff, which wouldn't be a good look.)

The thing about politics in Thailand is that - unlike every Western country - they are (mostly) non-ideological. That is, politics here is not about socialism in its various forms vs capitalism in its various forms. In Thailand it's (mostly) just about personalities and who's got the money and who hasn't ("Who's up who & who hasn't paid"). Which is why you get all the shilly shallying immediately after The People have spoken as individuals, and even some parties, 'change sides' to ensure they'll continue to share in the cake ...

Basically factory fodder. That at least is my Thai-Khmer family's experience. Poor wages, long hours and contracted for 3 years with no variation. Indentured servitude.

Ah the irony! Tourism is an industry that, everywhere in the world but particularly in the natural world, destroys its own foundations. Thailand is well down the track. Little symbolic gestures won't help.