The dramatic fall of Pita Limjaroenrat – and what it means for Move Forward Party

[webfact]

Pita Limjaroenrat, the initial frontrunner to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister, has made a huge sacrifice in a bid to secure the post of opposition leader for his Move Forward Party (MFP) while also helping MFP’s Padipat Suntiphada keep his seat as deputy House speaker.

 

Pita stepped down as leader of the opposition’s largest party last Friday (Sept 15), paving the way for one of his colleagues to succeed him at the helm of Move Forward. Two candidates have emerged – Chaithawat Tulathon, who is the party’s secretary-general, and deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun.

 

In July, Pita failed to secure the votes required in Parliament to become the next prime minister, despite his party’s victory in the May 14 general election. Now, he has quit as the top candidate for next opposition leader.

 

Why did Pita opt to quit?

 

Pita’s chance of being appointed opposition leader any time soon was slim, after he was suspended as an MP pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court on whether he contested the election while knowingly holding media shares – a violation of the law.

 

A ruling in the case is expected late this year, possibly in December, and it was unlikely that Pita would have been appointed as opposition leader before that date.

 

Top Photo: former Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat//Cr : Move Forward party

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2023-09-20

 

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[jvs]

Dramatic fall?

Strategic step back.

He is not going away,elections again next year.

He is still there behind the scene.

Kind of like Thaksin but with better intentions.

[Denim]

A great loss to Thailand. I hope he will still be a prominent member of MF and can see his fortune rise again in the future .

[Tom H]

Selfi poster boy

[Dogmatix]

Not sure that the position of leader of the opposition is at all important.  It has been vacant for lengthy periods in the past.

[Mavideol]

what's dramatic about him step back and soon to reconvene,  nothing to do with fall

 

[sirineou]

It means that democracy is dead in thailand. If it ever existed. 

Imagine  Thaksin Shinawatra forming a coalition goverment with the military!!

and the winner going home. 

Need I say more? 

[zzaa09]

5 hours ago, jvs said:

Dramatic fall?

Strategic step back.

He is not going away,elections again next year.

He is still there behind the scene.

Kind of like Thaksin but with better intentions.

Best be cautious and wise as to suggesting outcomes of next election cycles. 

Tradition has a hold here.....as we clearly witnessed from the last democratic election. 

 

More than interesting that Pita and MFP are just a slight blip on the media's radar. 

Another fashion passed in the wind.

[Pouatchee]

5 hours ago, Tom H said:

Selfi poster boy

toootally agree with you, but most here are blinded by his dim light. still an idiot imho. his demise is of his own making and he is failing to acknowledge it. on the bright side, he can now promote craft beer

[nausea]

Time magazine's "kiss of death" works its magic once again, 555.

[still kicking]

11 hours ago, Tom H said:

Selfi poster boy

Sick post 

[soi3eddie]

Forgive and correct me if I'm wrong. The winner of the people's vote and most seats in the election is not installed as the country's prime minister. This due to manipulation and rigging of the rules such as military-appointed senators so that it becomes almost impossible for anyone to become PM by a free and fair vote of the people of Thailand?

 

[still kicking]

1 minute ago, soi3eddie said:

Forgive and correct me if I'm wrong. The winner of the people's vote and most seats in the election is not installed as the country's prime minister. This due to manipulation and rigging of the rules such as military-appointed senators so that it becomes almost impossible for anyone to become PM by a free and fair vote of the people of Thailand?

 

Yes and the decision to resign was a smart move 

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, webfact said:

Pita Limjaroenrat, the initial frontrunner to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister, has made a huge sacrifice in a bid to secure the post of opposition leader for his Move Forward Party (MFP) while also helping MFP’s Padipat Suntiphada keep his seat as deputy House speaker.

It's not a dramatic fall.. he was pushed.

And he has answered back with a strategic move.

[jippytum]

Its a disgrace. Many MPs are convicted criminals and stll manage to prosper from government positions. Convicted ex politicians like Thaksin get five star treatment. Pita banned for having shares in a defunct company. A wich hunt by any standard. 

[luckyblock token]

I am glad to se this self promoter and american puppet ist out.

the best case for Thailand. bye Pita

[Aussie999]

3 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Forgive and correct me if I'm wrong. The winner of the people's vote and most seats in the election is not installed as the country's prime minister. This due to manipulation and rigging of the rules such as military-appointed senators so that it becomes almost impossible for anyone to become PM by a free and fair vote of the people of Thailand?

 

Australia has the same unjust system, were the party with most votes is often beaten by a "coalition" that no-one votes for  bloody ridiculous. 

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, Aussie999 said:

Australia has the same unjust system, were the party with most votes is often beaten by a "coalition" that no-one votes for  bloody ridiculous. 

Yes, known as a coalition of all the losers! Hardly seems democratic.... multi party democracy has it's limits!

[BMW Overlander]

53 minutes ago, luckyblock token said:

I am glad to se this self promoter and american puppet ist out.

the best case for Thailand. bye Pita

Let me guess: you are German married to an Isaan woman. Therefore, your opinion doesn't matter ????.

[Tom H]

4 hours ago, still kicking said:

Sick post 

Well then look at the picture:).

Politically he has/had

no good advisors

no real strategy

no experience 

no understanding in existing laws

(selling his shares before an election and not after)

but

he is charismatic, right.

Pictures on social networks are not enough by now.

Maybe later when your generation has grown up.

[Tom H]

Just now, BMW Overlander said:

Let me guess: you are German married to an Isaan woman. Therefore, your opinion doesn't matter ????.

It does matter as you see who runs the country now.????

[Tom H]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

It's not a dramatic fall.. he was pushed.

And he has answered back with a strategic move.

So far his strategy failed totally.

[Gandtee]

'Dramatic fall'? I don't see it as a dramatic fall. Just a dramatic headline. I see it as an ethical and honourable thing to do to allow the party the people chose, to exercise its full influence in parliament.

[Tom H]

1 hour ago, jippytum said:

Its a disgrace. Many MPs are convicted criminals and stll manage to prosper from government positions. Convicted ex politicians like Thaksin get five star treatment. Pita banned for having shares in a defunct company. A wich hunt by any standard. 

Well than he should have sold his shares before and not after an election.

Stupid little mistake or bad advisors?

At the end own failure.

[hotchilli]

4 minutes ago, Tom H said:

So far his strategy failed totally.

Watch this space..

The coalition parties haven't fallen out yet..

but they will.

[Tom H]

1 minute ago, hotchilli said:

Watch this space..

The coalition parties haven't fallen out yet..

but they will.

Sure as it is mostly the case with over 14 parties.

Doesnt change the fact that Pita is more a selfi guy than a politician.

His time will come when his generation is less mobile fixed:).

[spidermike007]

This was not a fall for Pita. If anything, it raised his prestige as the only one with some integrity in the room. This was a self promotion for his callous opponents, a power grab, a stolen election, a huge moral capitulation from PT, and more gamesmanship from the most toxic institution in Thailand. The army. 

 

The people have been robbed. And Thailand continues to mourn. And the army is less popular and less ethical than ever. The "Pors" have succeeded, for now. Their time will come. Eventually, the youth will rule. For now, Thailand continues it's backwards march into near oblivion, and further irrelevance. 

[NanLaew]

6 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Forgive and correct me if I'm wrong. The winner of the people's vote and most seats in the election is not installed as the country's prime minister. This due to manipulation and rigging of the rules such as military-appointed senators so that it becomes almost impossible for anyone to become PM by a free and fair vote of the people of Thailand?

 

Yes, it's called a coup by stealth. Previous interventions required tanks and got a bit messy to manage with interim 'security' governments and other tosh. This way, they save themselves a lot of time and money and (to them) it 'looks better'.

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

This was not a fall for Pita. If anything, it raised his prestige as the only one with some integrity in the room. This was a self promotion for his callous opponents, a power grab, a stolen election, a huge moral capitulation from PT, and more gamesmanship from the most toxic institution in Thailand. The army. 

 

The people have been robbed. And Thailand continues to mourn. And the army is less popular and less ethical than ever. The "Pors" have succeeded, for now. Their time will come. Eventually, the youth will rule. For now, Thailand continues it's backwards march into near oblivion, and further irrelevance. 

Most toxic?

 

Hardly.

 

The youth are waiting for an app to show them how to rule. It's either that or they're waiting for AI to help them out.

[Walker88]

A Pyrrhic Victory for the aging and corrupt old guard. Dinosaurs who don't see the asteroid.

 

Here's the Thai version of democracy: engage in a coup, stack the deck by altering the Constitution and getting the new, self-written one approved that allows the coup plotters and anti-democrats to appoint the Senate. Get a bit lucky in a multi-Party democracy so that a plurality will never be good enough for opposition to assume power. Gain the approval of powers who cannot be named, powers that carry decreasing weight among youth.

 

It works until it doesn't.

 

The chink in the armor is that the old and corrupt guard attached itself to the major regional power, who may turn out to be the superpower equivalent of Y2K or the Comet Kahoutek.

 

It is not a cliche to say Thailand's future is its youth. They are increasingly sick of every bit of the old guard and not as enamored of authority 'just because it is authority' as were their parents and grandparents. When that disrespect of 'innate' authority filters down into the ranks of the youth in the military, actual change will be possible. Tradition is no match for the power of social media; this is a new world. Control bandwidth, and you control the future.

 

It may take a few years, but odds favor a period of great social turbulence in Thailand's future. The old tricks might not work anymore, because iconoclasts are on the rise. They were a surprising plurality in May. Play their cards right, via such things as social media, with which their supporters are obsessed, and they may soon be a clear and undeniable majority.