Pita Limjaroenrat: Meet Thailand’s (probable) next leader

[webfact]

 

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat is on the road to becoming Thailand’s next prime minister after his three-year-old progressive party’s shock victory in last Sunday’s general election.

 

The election results, which are awaiting endorsement by the Election Commission, show Move Forward in first after winning 152 of the 500 MP seats in the House of Representatives.

 

“Change has come to our country… The numbers show that people want change,” the 42-year-old declared after his party’s stunning victory.

 

“Thai people have delivered their decision through the ballot box,” Pita said, adding he was ready to be the “prime minister for everyone”.

 

Move Forward is working on forming a new coalition government with eight other political parties – an alliance that would muster 314 seats.

 

However, a Lower House majority alone is not enough for Pita to secure the PM’s post, since the PM candidate must win majority support in a combined vote by both Houses of Parliament. That equates to at least 376 votes from the 750 parliamentarians (500 MPs and 250 senators).

 

Securing that majority will be Move Forward and Pita’s best chance of gaining political power after the party’s former incarnation, Future Forward, was dissolved by the charter court in February 2020. Move Forward was established in January 2020 after inactive party Phung Luang was taken over and renamed.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/pita-limjaroenrat-meet-thailands-probable-next-leader/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-05-20

 

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[spidermike007]

His election is a truly great thing for this nation and shows that the people are both sick of being led by highly ignorant dinosaurs, with no interest in progress, and interested in smart, young folks, who are serious, accomplished, capable of change, and interested in insuring that Thailand has a good future. Pita is exactly what this nation needs, at this point in time. This is a huge blessing. I am optimistic. I think he will stick to his promises.

 

This is a man who interrupted his studies at MIT, during an MBA program at Sloan to rescue his father's rice bran oil business, Agrifood, after this fathers death. He was successful, and is paying down the 100 million baht his father borrowed to start the company. This is a serious man. Very unlike the failures before him. He then went back and finished his MBA, at one of the top business schools on the planet. Compared to all the super low quality, bottom of the barrel men who have been in charge over the past 9 years, this is a new dawn. 

 

Go, Pita, go. We are behind you, proud of you and trust in you. You are giving us real hope, for a change

 

Let us hope the greedy, toxic, moronic, backwards, incapable nitwits get the message, and back down. 

They need to figure out a way to get rid of the corrupt, army appointed senators. ASAP. By whatever means necessary.

 

The youth have prevailed. It is a glorious day in Thailand!

Edited May 20, 2023 by spidermike007

[RichardColeman]

The losers backroom - "quick find some dirt on him"

[herfiehandbag]

10 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The youth have prevailed. It is a glorious day in Thailand!

The youth have raised a challenge. I agree with your analysis of Pita Limjaroenrat and the party he leads. But he, they, are a challenge to an autocratic elite, who are supported by an entrenched bureaucracy and a comic opera military and police establishment, more interested in self enrichment and personal power than any notion ( or real capacity) to serve or defend the country. They may/ will seek to defy that challenge. The first tools to call on will be their Election Commission and their judiciary (I use the possessive pronoun advisably); the second may be a manufactured "fake" popular movement ( they have some form there); the final would be outright physical oppression, although I have doubts whether the military (and certainly not the police) have the stomach for that any more.

 

Sadly the "glorious day" may be a while off. I hope not, but...

[2009]

I am pleasantly surprised.

[dinsdale]

43 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 

The youth have prevailed. It is a glorious day in Thailand!

Yes, the youth played a large roll but to take all but one seat (recount happening) of BKK shows to me this mandate from the people is much wider than just the youth and this is reflected across most of Thailand.

[Will B Good]

Watched him on CNN......quite impressed.

[Eric Loh]

This shocking win dispel allegation expounded by some here that Thailand voters are uneducated and ill informed. 

Edited May 20, 2023 by Eric Loh
Wrong spelling

[KhunLA]

'Probable' .. not so sure.   Doubtful he'll make it pass the EC decision, and not only not be PM, but probably banned completely from office.

 

For being the quite intelligent person that he is, how he didn't see that coming is a surprise, especially considering the same fate was bestowed on the party leader.

Edited May 20, 2023 by KhunLA

[bignok]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

His election is a truly great thing for this nation and shows that the people are both sick of being led by highly ignorant dinosaurs, with no interest in progress, and interested in smart, young folks, who are serious, accomplished, capable of change, and interested in insuring that Thailand has a good future. Pita is exactly what this nation needs, at this point in time. This is a huge blessing. I am optimistic. I think he will stick to his promises.

 

This is a man who interrupted his studies at MIT, during an MBA program at Sloan to rescue his father's rice bran oil business, Agrifood, after this fathers death. He was successful, and is paying down the 100 million baht his father borrowed to start the company. This is a serious man. Very unlike the failures before him. He then went back and finished his MBA, at one of the top business schools on the planet. Compared to all the super low quality, bottom of the barrel men who have been in charge over the past 9 years, this is a new dawn. 

 

Go, Pita, go. We are behind you, proud of you and trust in you. You are giving us real hope, for a change

 

Let us hope the greedy, toxic, moronic, backwards, incapable nitwits get the message, and back down. 

They need to figure out a way to get rid of the corrupt, army appointed senators. ASAP. By whatever means necessary.

 

The youth have prevailed. It is a glorious day in Thailand!

I doubt much will change.

[bannork]

I wonder why MF didn't nominate more than one candidate for PM.

Perhaps they didn't think they would be in this enviable position post election.

If Pita is disqualified, then PT will take the reins and all talk of reform will collapse.

[herfiehandbag]

25 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

For being the quite intelligent person that he is, how he didn't see that coming is a surprise, especially considering the same fate was bestowed on the party leader.

I doubt that the likely manoeuvrings of the "establishment" will be unexpected. Other leading figures within MFF remain in the background to keep the movements " powder dry" 

 

MFF and the coalition they are assembling exist to force and conduct profound reform of Thailand's government and governance. I am sure that they hope, and will be delighted if, this election mandate is enough to put them in power. It likely won't, and they will have expected and planned for that. They will eventually get there, but it may first entail the physical overthrow of the "ancien regime" followed by fresh elections.

 

Any bans or disbarrments, be it Pita, Thannathorn, or even the Thaksin siblings, will be meaningless, and will be rapidly overturned once that overthrow happens. So maybe he is a short term sacrifice. But he is a young man, as is his predecessor. They have plenty of political milage left.

[KhunLA]

12 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

I doubt that the likely manoeuvrings of the "establishment" will be unexpected. Other leading figures within MFF remain in the background to keep the movements " powder dry" 

 

MFF and the coalition they are assembling exist to force and conduct profound reform of Thailand's government and governance. I am sure that they hope, and will be delighted if, this election mandate is enough to put them in power. It likely won't, and they will have expected and planned for that. They will eventually get there, but it may first entail the physical overthrow of the "ancien regime" followed by fresh elections.

 

Any bans or disbarrments, be it Pita, Thannathorn, or even the Thaksin siblings, will be meaningless, and will be rapidly overturned once that overthrow happens. So maybe he is a short term sacrifice. But he is a young man, as is his predecessor. They have plenty of political milage left.

Agree, and if anything, is showed the younger generation, they now have choices.  Hopefully, if Pita gets banned, it will be just him, and not the whole party.  That would be a bit of a setback, and once again, a wait to next election cycle.

[bannork]

2 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Agree, and if anything, is showed the younger generation, they now have choices.  Hopefully, if Pita gets banned, it will be just him, and not the whole party.  That would be a bit of a setback, and once again, a wait to next election cycle.

Yes, the sudden rise of FF showed the desire of many Thais for reform which none of the other parties offered.

Dissolving them simply led to the ascent of MF. The banned three leaders still made a very visible presence. Indeed, there was a public quarrel recently between Piyabutr and Pita about policy.

If they dissolved MF, its MPs can move to another party and rename it keeping the 'Forward' as part of the name, ' Forward Forever' sounds good to me!.

 

[dinsdale]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

'Probable' .. not so sure.   Doubtful he'll make it pass the EC decision, and not only not be PM, but probably banned completely from office.

 

For being the quite intelligent person that he is, how he didn't see that coming is a surprise, especially considering the same fate was bestowed on the party leader.

He did see it coming. Have you not been reading aka educating yourself.

[KhunLA]

15 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

He did see it coming. Have you not been reading aka educating yourself.

Didn't delve into it that much, as totally irrelevant to my life in TH, but also not seeing anywhere stating he expected or planned on dealing with the issue.  Maybe you could provide a link to that tidbit.

 

Stating that he found it 'impossible' to get rid of his shares, doesn't change the fact, he holds them.  

 

Clue me in on what I'm missing, please.

 

From VOA:

 

It may come down to he said / he said, 'did' / 'did not' inform of holding shares.  Both irrelevant, if letter of law followed, holding shares disqualifies him from holding office.

 

Public pressure to enforce the rule ...

.... or not.

 

Personally I'm not optimistic on his chances of winning, when they vote to ban or not.

Edited May 20, 2023 by KhunLA

[webfact]

He promised change in Thailand. But will he be allowed to lead?

BY SUI-LEE WEE
THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of Thailand's Move Forward Party, at the party headquarters in Bangkok on Thursday | LAUREN DECICCA / THE NEW YORK TIMES

BANGKOK – When Pita Limjaroenrat was a student at Harvard in 2008, he shadowed his American classmates who were campaigning at the time for Barack Obama. The experience gave him a window into electoral politics, from phone banks and polling data to knocking on doors and putting campaign flags on front lawns.

 

Fifteen years later, Pita said he used what he learned in Massachusetts to help his recent campaign in Thailand, where he stunned the country’s political establishment by leading his progressive Move Forward Party to a momentous victory.

 

For decades, Thai voters had known only two dominant political forces: one led by conservative royalists and militarists and the other by a populist billionaire living in exile. Supporters saw Pita, 42, as the candidate who represented change and a return to democracy after nine years of military rule that was preceded by a coup. On the stump, he promised to undo the military’s grip on Thai politics and revise a law that criminalizes criticism of the monarchy.

 

But his path to prime minister remains uncertain.

 

This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2023 The New York Times Company

 

Full story: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/05/20/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/pita-limjaroenrat-thailand-allowed-to-lead/

 

[mania]

I agree Pita is a A+ candidate & hope he succeeds

 

Whether or not he is allowed to is another story & we wait to see

That problem of needing 376 seats is a tough nut as long as the 250 BS seats are allowed to decide this.

 

End of day TIT & we all know this but ????????????

[BusyB]

Why ''shock'' victory?

 

It's only shocking for a few dinosaurs who are completely out of touch with their country and people.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat is on the road to becoming Thailand’s next prime minister after his three-year-old progressive party’s shock victory in last Sunday’s general election.

On the road but it seems it's a very long, twisty and dangerous path.

I hope for all those wishing change in Thailand he navigates it carefully.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Let us hope the greedy, toxic, moronic, backwards, incapable nitwits get the message, and back down. 

They need to figure out a way to get rid of the corrupt, army appointed senators. ASAP. By whatever means necessary.

I agree totally with your post, but the above are numerous and set in their self indulgent lifestyle.

They do not take kindly to young upstarts who are going to change things.

[JimHuaHin]

Yes, Khun Pita is certainly what Thailand needs.

 

The antithesis of the last Prime Minister - intelligent, well-educated, fluent in English, young, etc.

[Dr B]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Didn't delve into it that much, as totally irrelevant to my life in TH, but also not seeing anywhere stating he expected or planned on dealing with the issue.  Maybe you could provide a link to that tidbit.

 

Stating that he found it 'impossible' to get rid of his shares, doesn't change the fact, he holds them.  

 

Clue me in on what I'm missing, please.

 

From VOA:

 

It may come down to he said / he said, 'did' / 'did not' inform of holding shares.  Both irrelevant, if letter of law followed, holding shares disqualifies him from holding office.

 

Public pressure to enforce the rule ...

.... or not.

 

Personally I'm not optimistic on his chances of winning, when they vote to ban or not.

As is often the case in the forum, the "facts" are very hard to establish. Still I note that you have referred to shares in iTV, as some others have, as "his shares". However I have also seen it suggested that (i) they were shares bought and held by his late father, and (ii) that he is an executor of his father's will. One would therefore need to investigate and understand probate law in Thailand. If it is similar to that in UK, and it may well not be, then I think being an executor may give one management rights over the assets on behalf of the estate, but not necessarily ownership, unless they were left to him. This would appear to be consistent with the suggestions by Khun Khemthong that he was trying to sell the shares, not as an owner but on behalf of the estate. It seems to me that, with what we know, there is at least a clear path via which he never has been the "owner" of the shares. Whether or not that is supported by the facts remains to be seen.

[KhunLA]

5 minutes ago, Dr B said:

As is often the case in the forum, the "facts" are very hard to establish. Still I note that you have referred to shares in iTV, as some others have, as "his shares". However I have also seen it suggested that (i) they were shares bought and held by his late father, and (ii) that he is an executor of his father's will. One would therefore need to investigate and understand probate law in Thailand. If it is similar to that in UK, and it may well not be, then I think being an executor may give one management rights over the assets on behalf of the estate, but not necessarily ownership, unless they were left to him. This would appear to be consistent with the suggestions by Khun Khemthong that he was trying to sell the shares, not as an owner but on behalf of the estate. It seems to me that, with what we know, there is at least a clear path via which he never has been the "owner" of the shares. Whether or not that is supported by the facts remains to be seen.

Yes, read same, as how he 'acquired' or got 'control' of the shares.  Does give the EC and CC room for some discretionary leeway, if they see fit, to let him remain.

 

As you say, we don't have the exact facts, and may never have.  Next week or month may be interesting.

 

Really hope Pita & party take the helm, as TH needs a break from the very old junta regime.

 

Give it rest fellows, you got your millions, just retire already.

Edited May 20, 2023 by KhunLA

[cleopatra2]

26 minutes ago, Dr B said:

As is often the case in the forum, the "facts" are very hard to establish. Still I note that you have referred to shares in iTV, as some others have, as "his shares". However I have also seen it suggested that (i) they were shares bought and held by his late father, and (ii) that he is an executor of his father's will. One would therefore need to investigate and understand probate law in Thailand. If it is similar to that in UK, and it may well not be, then I think being an executor may give one management rights over the assets on behalf of the estate, but not necessarily ownership, unless they were left to him. This would appear to be consistent with the suggestions by Khun Khemthong that he was trying to sell the shares, not as an owner but on behalf of the estate. It seems to me that, with what we know, there is at least a clear path via which he never has been the "owner" of the shares. Whether or not that is supported by the facts remains to be seen.

For the points you raise my personal opinion is that the EC will refer the matter to the Constitutional Court. 

As far as I can tell neither the Organic law on elections or Constitution define the meaning of shareholder,  in the context of nominee , manager in a trust or beneficial owner.

[chilli42]

5 hours ago, bignok said:

I doubt much will change.

Well if he is successful in pulling together a coalition of the required number of votes he will need to sell his soul to the entrenched.  Hopefully he can still make a bit of progress in a few key areas so he can build experience, trust and a track record in future elections. Don’t expect too much it is naive.  He has a lot against him.  He needs time.

[scorecard]

6 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

The losers backroom - "quick find some dirt on him"

Change that to twist or invent...

[onthedarkside]

Off topic unsubstantiated troll post removed

[DjSilver]

Well, we all know that Prayut control the  electiin board and the courts, so they will find a way to make him not eligible. Sadly enough.

[dinsdale]

5 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Didn't delve into it that much, as totally irrelevant to my life in TH, but also not seeing anywhere stating he expected or planned on dealing with the issue.  Maybe you could provide a link to that tidbit.

 

Stating that he found it 'impossible' to get rid of his shares, doesn't change the fact, he holds them.  

 

Clue me in on what I'm missing, please.

 

From VOA:

 

It may come down to he said / he said, 'did' / 'did not' inform of holding shares.  Both irrelevant, if letter of law followed, holding shares disqualifies him from holding office.

 

Public pressure to enforce the rule ...

.... or not.

 

Personally I'm not optimistic on his chances of winning, when they vote to ban or not.

 I'm not going to do spoon feed you. There have been articles on here and elsewhere about Pita's response to this.

Edited May 20, 2023 by Rimmer
flame removed