Chalerm

[samgrowth]

Chalerm for P.M.

The P.P.P. shooting itself in its foot. More like Thailand being shot in the head. The world will witness this murder.

Chalerm is quite a nice guy. People like him and give a lot of support for him. However, people doesn't like his sons, and the way he (being a father) protect his sons. Having said that, I would have protected by sons the way he did.

[kxfield]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy. People like him and give a lot of support for him. However, people doesn't like his sons, and the way he (being a father) protect his sons. Having said that, I would have protected by sons the way he did.

Well I just hope he does not misplace his gun again and forget to report it- it could get into the wrong hands.

There is a saying- Like father-Like son- not always the case but often is.

[Loaded]

This is the same police captain Chalerm who was exiled in the 90s to Denmark because so many people wanted to kill him. He was the enforcer of the then police mafia which extorted large amounts of money from Thai, and I think some foreign, businesses by informing executives that their children may have nasty fatal accidents (some did) if contirbutions to the police benevolent fund weren't forthcoming? He only came back after 'compromise' payments were made.

He'll make a grand pm. There will certainly be no messing around with those judges and courts when he is given power. I predict a few judges may lose their sons or daughters. The level of evil at the top of thai society is not really understood by most people IMO.

[digitele]

This is the same police captain Chalerm who was exiled in the 90s to Denmark because so many people wanted to kill him. He was the enforcer of the then police mafia which extorted large amounts of money from Thai, and I think some foreign, businesses by informing executives that their children may have nasty fatal accidents (some did) if contirbutions to the police benevolent fund weren't forthcoming? He only came back after 'compromise' payments were made.

He'll make a grand pm. There will certainly be no messing around with those judges and courts when he is given power. I predict a few judges may lose their sons or daughters. The level of evil at the top of thai society is not really understood by most people IMO.

He is a product of this environment, which is perpetuating itself.

In the 90's - 1st coup against Chaichai, the fronts pages of newspapers showed a boxing promoter (what was left of him)

sitting bullet riddled in his van, security cars, bodyguards all dead. A military style hit, AK's or M16's. Pro Job. No witnesses.

The boy was in Denmark the same day. Boxing and gambling is big bucks controlled at the top. They thought he took more than his share...(Can you imagine? The Nerve?) Back payments over that resulted in his happy return to his homeland.

He has DIRT on EVERYBODY, thus his longitevity. Don't underestimate him.

Edited December 4, 2008 by digitele

[sriracha john]

Who is likely to fill PM's job

If a controversial figure like Chalerm is picked, protests are likely to resume

BANGKOK: Thailand's Parliament will convene on Monday or Tuesday to elect a new premier following the dissolution of the People Power Party, Chart Thai and Matchima Thipathaya parties, all members of the ruling coalition.

A court had also barred Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics after finding the parties guilty of vote fraud.

Industry Minister Mingkwan Saengsuwan and Public Health Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung are seen as top contenders for the post. But the election of Chalerm, a controversial former police captain and veteran politician, would be bound to trigger more opposition from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which has campaigned to remove those it sees as proxies of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The nomination of Chalerm would be seen as the coalition's taking a hard line, while Mingkwan, former head of the Mass Communication Organisation of Thailand, would be a more conciliatory choice.

Others said to be in the running are Speaker of the House Chai Chidchob and his Deputy Apiwan Wiriyachai. Thai-language daily Thai Rath listed former judge Manit Wityatem as a possible dark horse.

On Sunday, the Puea Thai party - a shell party activated as a vehicle for MPs from the dissolved parties - will choose a leader, in what could be an early signal of the identity of the new premier. Some 80 of 218 MPs from the PPP reportedly signed on the party yesterday.

A 'national unity' government is being suggested to get around the conflict, but the government is unlikely to agree to any move to accommodate the PAD's demand for 'new politics' - a semi-appointed rather than elected Parliament.

The PAD has threatened to reactivate protests if 'a proxy government of the Thaksin regime is set up', or if others try to amend the Constitution to 'whitewash the wrongdoings of...the Thaksin regime, to benefit politicians, or to lessen the power of the King'.

Analysts believe the PAD had suspended protests partly due to the King's birthday on Friday; the warning, they say, shows the current pause is temporary.

- The Straits Times / 2008-12-04

[Koo82]

If angels exist, pick one of them to be Thai PM.

If no angel, accept one of the less than perfect human beings who can bring Thailand forward, not backward.

What PAD and elites are proposing is to bring Thailand back to 1990.

Unless they can convince all Thais that Thailand will go communism, now please accept the result.

The Puea Thai Party only follows the law written (by whom you know) after Khun Thaksin was out. Don't give me the bs "national unity" government suggestion. It's not in the yellow book.

[rixalex]

If angels exist, pick one of them to be Thai PM.

If no angel, accept one of the less than perfect human beings who can bring Thailand forward, not backward.

By less than perfect what you mean to say is corrupt and without ethics i take it. Why Koo82 are you prepared to accept someone like that? Why do you set your standards so low? Why do you think there's not one decent Thai person who can run this country? You should be ashamed.

[h90]

If angels exist, pick one of them to be Thai PM.

If no angel, accept one of the less than perfect human beings who can bring Thailand forward, not backward.

What PAD and elites are proposing is to bring Thailand back to 1990.

Unless they can convince all Thais that Thailand will go communism, now please accept the result.

The Puea Thai Party only follows the law written (by whom you know) after Khun Thaksin was out. Don't give me the bs "national unity" government suggestion. It's not in the yellow book.

There is a wide area between angels and criminals. Because we can't get an angel we don't need to accept a criminal.

[mrtoad]

If angels exist, pick one of them to be Thai PM.

If no angel, accept one of the less than perfect human beings who can bring Thailand forward, not backward.

What PAD and elites are proposing is to bring Thailand back to 1990.

Unless they can convince all Thais that Thailand will go communism, now please accept the result.

The Puea Thai Party only follows the law written (by whom you know) after Khun Thaksin was out. Don't give me the bs "national unity" government suggestion. It's not in the yellow book.

So you think that Chalerm is going to unify the country.?How sad, that you would accept a criminal thug like Chalerm as Prime Minister, although your continuing support of Toxin and his proxies clearly shows that you are easily pleased.

[JacknDanny]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy.

This qualifies for the most ridiculous and ignorant comment I have ever seen on Thai Visa.

[mrtoad]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy.

This qualifies for the most ridiculous and ignorant comment I have ever seen on Thai Visa.

Seconded.

We have Thai Visa quote of the day, can we have Thai Visa tool of the day?

[rixalex]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy.

This qualifies for the most ridiculous and ignorant comment I have ever seen on Thai Visa.

Seconded.

Thirded.

Time has come to wean yourself off the yaa baa... or is it too late?

[girlx]

fourthed

[h90]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy.

This qualifies for the most ridiculous and ignorant comment I have ever seen on Thai Visa.

Seconded.

Thirded.

Time has come to wean yourself off the yaa baa... or is it too late?

Strongly disagree it is one of the funniest comment on Thai Visa and should be moved in the Joke section.

[samgrowth]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy.

This qualifies for the most ridiculous and ignorant comment I have ever seen on Thai Visa.

Seconded.

Thirded.

Time has come to wean yourself off the yaa baa... or is it too late?

Strongly disagree it is one of the funniest comment on Thai Visa and should be moved in the Joke section.

If he is not a nice guy, why would people vote for him to represent them. Also, he ran for Bangkok Governor a few years back, he was fourth, just behind Chuwit (3rd).

[tominbkk]

Chalerm will turn Thailand into a police state worse than Burma!

[mrtoad]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy.

This qualifies for the most ridiculous and ignorant comment I have ever seen on Thai Visa.

Seconded.

Thirded.

Time has come to wean yourself off the yaa baa... or is it too late?

Strongly disagree it is one of the funniest comment on Thai Visa and should be moved in the Joke section.

If he is not a nice guy, why would people vote for him to represent them. Also, he ran for Bangkok Governor a few years back, he was fourth, just behind Chuwit (3rd).

Oh, I think words fail me, are you that naive?

[JetsetBkk]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy.

This qualifies for the most ridiculous and ignorant comment I have ever seen on Thai Visa.

Seconded.

Thirded.

Time has come to wean yourself off the yaa baa... or is it too late?

Strongly disagree it is one of the funniest comment on Thai Visa and should be moved in the Joke section.

f he is not a nice guy, why would people vote for him to represent them. Also, he ran for Bangkok Governor a few years back, he was fourth, just behind Chuwit (3rd).

Oh, I think words fail me, are you that naive?

If Chalerm becomes PM, I'll join the PAD.

[DarloKnight]

This is my first post I live in UK and have been reading this forum for the past week trying to learn a bit about Thai politics, anyway can someone please tell me when the new PM will be voted in?

Thanks

[allexx]

Chalerm is quite a nice guy.

This qualifies for the most ridiculous and ignorant comment I have ever seen on Thai Visa.

Seconded.

Thirded.

Time has come to wean yourself off the yaa baa... or is it too late?

Strongly disagree it is one of the funniest comment on Thai Visa and should be moved in the Joke section.

f he is not a nice guy, why would people vote for him to represent them. Also, he ran for Bangkok Governor a few years back, he was fourth, just behind Chuwit (3rd).

Oh, I think words fail me, are you that naive?

If Chalerm becomes PM, I'll join the PAD.

If Chalerm becomes PM I'll check out Thailand ASAP.

[younghusband]

Chris Baker and Acharn Pasuk in this piece from the WSJ seem to think Chalerm the favourite.There are some interesting home truths in addition including a comment the thuggery of PAD guards.

The People's Alliance for Democracy's announcement Tuesday that demonstrations would cease at Bangkok's two commercial airports has occasioned a great sigh of relief across the country. But any hopes that this respite marks an end to Thailand's political crisis are misplaced.

Reuters

PAD protesters celebrate at Bangkok's international airport on December 2.

This crisis has been in the making since 2006, when then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup. The pro-Thaksin People's Power Party subsequently won elections in a landslide in December last year. The PAD, with the support of Bangkok elites and others, has been calling for the resignation of PPP-elected prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat -- who also happens to be Mr. Thaksin's brother-in-law.

The PAD stepped back on Tuesday after the Constitution Court dissolved the ruling PPP and two of its coalition allies for electoral fraud. The Court also banned 109 executives of the three dissolved parties from politics for five years. Prime Minister Somchai and 12 other ministers have automatically lost their posts. A new government must be formed, and the parliament is expected to meet on December 8 for this purpose.

The anti-government PAD has claimed this ruling as a big victory. Yet it's unclear just who will step into the breach. The PPP and its allies have already laid plans to reincarnate under new names over the next 60 days. PPP opponents would like the opposition Democrats to head a new coalition. But that political arithmetic does not work. Even if all other parties defected from the former PPP coalition, a Democrat-led coalition would still be four seats short of a majority. Besides, the coalition partners have sworn to stick by PPP. Many of their members strongly resent the Democrats for having been allies with the army through this crisis.

Technically, the ex-PPP politicians should have no problem nominating a new prime minister and gaining the required endorsement from the House of Representatives. But in reality this route is far from assured. With 36 executives banned under this ruling and another 111 in May last year, the PPP's bench is thin. The current front-runner to lead the party is Chalerm Yubamrung, an old-fashioned rabble-rouser associated closely in the public mind with former Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej -- who was forced to resign three months ago. This makes him vulnerable to the same elite discontent that has already brought down two prime ministers this year. Another possibility is Mingkwan Sangsuwan, a former public relations executive. But he has no strong base in the party and struggled as a minister.

The PAD has issued a warning that they will return to the streets if the new government is just the old government in thin disguise. Tuesday night, they issued a statement saying, "If a proxy government of the Thaksin regime is set up again or if there is an attempt to amend the Constitution or the law to whitewash the wrongdoings of those in the Thaksin regime, to benefit politicians, or to lessen the power of the King, the PAD will return."

This narrows the PPP's immediate options. If the PPP does agree on a prime minister, the party could potentially head a government, and appease their opponents by appointing non-PPP MPs to many of the key ministries. This is allowed by the Constitution but strongly opposed by PPP faction heads. Some businessmen have proposed a "national unity government" to accelerate changes in the political system, but the idea has gathered little support.

Another option is to dissolve Parliament. This is the clear preference of the army, Thai business community and Democrat Party. Last week army commander-in-chief General Anupong Paochinda and business leaders proposed a "compromise" under which the PAD would leave the airports, while the House of Representatives would be dissolved. There is a precedent for a caretaker prime minister to do just that, though confirmation would first be needed from the Constitution Court. A House dissolution would avoid the need to elect a new prime minister at this point.

The ball is thus in the court of the ex-coalition politicians. They are very, very angry. Chatchai Chookaew, legal adviser of Matchima Thipataya -- one of the banned parties -- said yesterday after the ruling that the Constitution Court's dissolution of the parties "destroyed politics and weakened political parties." Many MPs are reluctant to fight another election after only one year because of the expenses involved. Yet elections would serve to rebuild some of Parliament's legitimacy, which has been badly eroded in this crisis. Ex-PPP politicians might benefit from public sympathy in an election, and their coalition could use the chance to recruit new talent.

This public support could be significant. Many ordinary Thais -- especially in the country's rural north and northeastern provinces -- were insulted by the PAD's allegations that upcountry voters are too ignorant and venal to deserve the democratic franchise. Many also view the PAD's occupation of the airports as a catastrophe that will bring severe economic pain and high unemployment to the country.

If an election is held in the near future, there is a very strong possibility that the PPP, which will be reincarnated as the Puea Thai ("For Thais") Party, would be returned with an even stronger majority. For this reason some observers doubt there will be any new election until this prospect can be prevented, either by splitting the ex-PPP forces or by changing the electoral rules. But neither of these options can be easily engineered.

Although the PAD left the airports proclaiming victory, in reality the movement is greatly weakened. Many of its conservative supporters were distressed by the violence committed by the PAD's thuggish "guards," disturbed by the general breakdown of public order, and aghast at the economic consequences of the airport closure. The PPP and their allies have seemingly lost out by the party dissolution and fall of the government, but they have probably gained in terms of the strength of their support.

The conflict boils down to one central issue: How can a powerful minority, including the army, businessmen and members of the urban middle class, live with a political movement that has a strong electoral majority? Thailand is still a long way from answering that question.

Ms. Pasuk and Mr. Baker are authors of "Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand" (Silkworm Books, 2004

[Ricardo]

PPP won the last election with a landslide ? !

Reuters used to be better than this.

[younghusband]

PPP won the last election with a landslide ? !

Reuters used to be better than this.

Puzzling isn't it? Who are these people Mr Baker and Ms Pasuk anyway who seem to think they know something about Thai history and politics? Obviously in the pay of Thaksin.

Note for the rest.PPP won 233 seats with the Democrats about 165 from memory.PPP formed a coalition with the smaller parties, constituting a landslide.

[cmsally]

This will be interesting without a doubt.

If the choice of PM is Chalerm, it will be an act of throwing down the gauntlet on the part of the pro govt. side.

The 3 month timeline has sort of gone, tick tick --- boom, but the game hasn't finished yet.

[siam4ever]

I don't think they are really serious about Chalerm being PM. It is just a way of spitting on the PAD. The PAD does need to be spit on at this point.

[cmsally]

I don't think they are really serious about Chalerm being PM. It is just a way of spitting on the PAD. The PAD does need to be spit on at this point.

I think they are totally serious, for some very specific reasons.

[mrtoad]

I don't think they are really serious about Chalerm being PM. It is just a way of spitting on the PAD. The PAD does need to be spit on at this point.

I do hope you are right, however the history of the PPP/TRT would suggest that confrontational and divisional politics is what they want. If that is the case then Chalerm is the right man, but for the future of the country, he is clearly the wrong man, although there are a couple of posters who reckon he's "an alriight geezer".

[Plus]

At the moment Newin faction is not going to join Pua Thai and don't want Chalerm, so forget about it for now. Coalition dont't want anyone from PPP at all, and Yaowapa agreed in principle on non-PPP prime minister.

Next, the Senators launched lawsuits against party list MPs simply moving over, and against Chaora-what, who is not an MP at all, yet holds interim Premiership position.

Baker and Pasuk are a couple of days behind in their analysis, things are very fluid and changing every hour. It's a bit unfortunate that they chose to pick the worst possible scenario and present it as the most plausible, two days ago many others thought along those lines, too.

[geriatrickid]

If Thaksin left Chalerm out of his cabinet because he was considered too dirty, who then is really backing the guy? I doubt it's Thaksin as he doesn't need the grief. I think it's a diversion.

[hammered]

Chuan seems to be being floated as a possible to be backed by friends of Newin and Dems. Relatively safe and no threat to anyone. Possible. Snoh is coming through the pack too.