Thailand just chose a prime minister. He’s not the one people voted for

[JimHuaHin]

Recently there have been some news items/commentaries about the need to "reform" the Thai system.

 

Now, with another Thai business tycoon at the trough, together with the military and marfia parties, as well as the "deal" with the power elites to allow Taksin to return, maybe there will be more talk of the need for a revolution.

 

 

[KhunLA]

As already pointed out probably, since not reading posts.  People don't elect PM, the representative they voted for present 'valid' candidates to be chosen.

 

Seems the system is working just fine.

[BillyBloggs]

15 hours ago, Hunz Kittisak said:

In a parliamentary system like Thailand the people aka voters DO NOT choose the Prime Minister 

 

The elected members of parliament and the appointed senate vote for the Prime Minister from candidates put forth by the winning parties 

Which is totally wrong as can be seen by this farce, both houses must be accountable and elected not one put up as a sham, can the big fella fix this or do they even want to.

[bannork]

Well worth reading

 

[BillyBloggs]

24 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

As already pointed out probably, since not reading posts.  People don't elect PM, the representative they voted for present 'valid' candidates to be chosen.

 

Seems the system is working just fine.

No its not they are a sham appointed by the power hungry ex military

[Walker88]

One percent of the population owns 75% of all assets in Thailand. With this election that 75% will asymptotically approach 100%.

 

The other 99% just have too much household debt, so they cannot be trusted with possessing anything. Their 'betters' will correct this, for their own good. (double entendre intended).

[Surasak]

14 hours ago, 2baht said:

Is more needed??? He has perfect qualifications! ????

Having all the qualifications possible, doesn't necessarily make someone sensible. 

[2baht]

3 minutes ago, Surasak said:

Having all the qualifications possible, doesn't necessarily make someone sensible. 

I totally agree!

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, morrobay said:

Could care less who is running this country from whatever means. Only two things matter in my book: visa requirements & exchange rate. 

Quite, expats have no say in the matter and have to live with the outcome.

Political change lies in the hands of the people and every country in the world has a problem where there is a multitude of political parties. When the people fail to provide a party with an outright majority, horse trading will always determine the outcome.

For those that want to see real political circus they should look to countries like the US and UK.  Trump and Bojo, probably the biggest political clowns in modern times.

[steven100]

4 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Trump and Bojo, probably the biggest political clowns in modern times.

and sleepy Joe who trips while walking up stairs into AF1, and fumbles his words all the time,  and remember Boris Yeltsin who was always drunk on the job ...

[Walker88]

12 minutes ago, steven100 said:

and sleepy Joe who trips while walking up stairs into AF1, and fumbles his words all the time,  and remember Boris Yeltsin who was always drunk on the job ...

That 'sleepy' guy, who has been a gaff machine since birth, has delivered the lowest UE in 55 years, ended the trump Recession, got a bipartisan infrastructure Bill passed, reduced prescription drug prices, and re-energized NATO after trump tried his best to destroy it. Also, Joe might slip going up the stairs, but there's no toilet paper stuck to his shoe like trump.

 

I doubt Srettha will do half as much as 'sleepy'..

[bannork]

Gentlemen, this thread is about Thai politics, nothing to do with Western political leaders. There's a whole foreign news forum for that 

[Piyabutr Saengkanokkul]

Thank you dear leader 

[Jackbenimble]

That headline is comical and contradictory. The PM that "Thailand" chose is not the new PM so "Thailand" hasn't chosen a new PM at all..........."lawmakers" have chosen the new PM. He's the unlucky one who has agreed to do their bidding.

[jwest10]

16 hours ago, david555 said:

Some one will be drinking a glass of champagne in Bangkok prison now,,,????

 

Congratulations ....! ????

Yeah not well at 3am the next morning and airlifted by helicopter and next we shall hear he has been captured and  helped to flee the country after making sure PT "won" the  Election and again what a waste of Thais votes and 11 parties in the Coilition.
Yes look at the so-called Democracies of USA and UK amongst several others there is no such thing,
The  one topic we can not talk about but just about living in exile in Euope!!
That in itself amongst other things like 249 Senators brought in by the previous military Government and allowed to vote!!!


 

[jwest10]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Quite, expats have no say in the matter and have to live with the outcome.

Political change lies in the hands of the people and every country in the world has a problem where there is a multitude of political parties. When the people fail to provide a party with an outright majority, horse trading will always determine the outcome.

For those that want to see real political circus they should look to countries like the US and UK.  Trump and Bojo, probably the biggest political clowns in modern times.

sandyf
Brilliant post and yes it affects our wonderful Thai families though and yes mentioned this in another post look at the so-called democracies of the USA and UK and several others and there simply is no democracy at all and a very small percentage of the populations actuall vote.
The best post today and not rocket science but to them it is!!!

[jwest10]

16 hours ago, koolkarl said:

And what do the Thai people do?  Complain on social media. Big deal. 

And tbf at home but some subjects are very tetchy indeed and no need to mention the others, you all know!!!

 

[Derek B]

16 hours ago, NemoH said:

Strange to find so many comments from people who lack understanding of parliament system.. the heading is misleading too.

I am neutral on who becomes PM. 

MF party only won 30% of the vote so how is it that the remaining 70% cannot choose their candidate for PM? So how is their choice not something the Thai people had voted for ?

Did the unelected senators have a vote on the choice of PM?

 

 

[kwilco]

Thailand has been ruled by the military and a ruling elite since WW2.

People overlook how fractious this elite can be...even Taksin is part of the elite...albeit a populist one.

So the current coalition is not as surprising as it looks.

However one has to wonder how long it will last.

One can expect power struggles to start immediately.

The usual  process is a series of corruption and conflict of interest selections that will get rid of one lot or another.

What seems less likely is a genuine popular movement.

Maybe a eventually  a mass demo in Bkk and then the military will step in to "sort things out".

The presence of Taksin is interesting...has he brokered this deal?

 

[paul1804]

Not that much difference between Thailand, the recent Cambodian sham & even Laos when it comes to politics and the military. Then of course you have Myanmar to the west, an extreme version of the above which Thailand does not condemn! So the region is governed by the military and rogue politicians who are in the game for personal financial gains & power at the expense of the people and what they voted for is irrelevant. 

[kwilco]

1 hour ago, paul1804 said:

Not that much difference between Thailand, the recent Cambodian sham & even Laos when it comes to politics and the military. Then of course you have Myanmar to the west, an extreme version of the above which Thailand does not condemn! So the region is governed by the military and rogue politicians who are in the game for personal financial gains & power at the expense of the people and what they voted for is irrelevant. 

Don't see that glib comparisons with neighbours makes a point.

 

What would you conclude from this?

[fusion58]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

Srettha, 60, a real estate tycoon turned political newcomer...

Oh oh!

 

Where have I heard that one before?

 

Didn't get the most votes in that particular instance either, as I recall.

[Srikcir]

On 8/22/2023 at 7:59 PM, kingstonkid said:

My point was that simply getting the majority of the votes does not mean you win the election.

Noo mater what government it is the same you can lose the total vores adn still win the election.

 

It happens in Canada if you look at canada it happens there and yes Canada has a lot more parties then the U.S.

Just to add to the ekection mix look at Venezuela.

The President is directly elected by popular vote. But the country has a Parliament similar to Thailand wherein the President of Parliament is elected in a manner similar to Thailand's President of Parliament. 

It's difficult to generalize world wide.

[kwilco]

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Just to add to the ekection mix look at Venezuela.

The President is directly elected by popular vote. But the country has a Parliament similar to Thailand wherein the President of Parliament is elected in a manner similar to Thailand's President of Parliament. 

It's difficult to generalize world wide.

It depends on the powers allotted - In many democracies you have 3 leislative bodies - a lower house, upper house and a head of states. In the UK the lower house has most pwoer the head of state relatvely little - they also are almost unique in having a non-eected upper house.

 

many countries elect a president but the powers of that post are greaty different - for instance in the USA the president holds a third of legislative power - equally with the senateand house of representatives.

THailand's head of State is the monarchy, then thereis the Assembly, a bicameral legislature composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Combined, the Assembly has 750 members, 500 of which were elected directly through a general election (500 MPs in the lower house). Others include all 250 members of the Senate being appointed by the military.

[shdmn]

On 8/22/2023 at 9:07 AM, Middle Aged Grouch said:

He will be our hero if he gives visa waiver on arrival for the usual nationalities but valid 3 months straightaway.  with no further questions or hassles from those lovely boyz in brown.

Talk of a 3 month visa waiver on arrival is music to my ears.  Still far from certain but keeping my fingers crossed.