Thai PM Abhisit Says He May Be British

[metisdead]

Speculation, comments and discussion of either a political or personal nature are not allowed when discussing HM The King or the Royal family, as such posts and replies have been removed.

[whybother]

/edit - has becoming a Montenegrin damaged Mr T's popularity?

He wasn't born, raised and educated in Montenegro though, nor has he been evasive with the truth when confronted over it as Abhisit has. Many will see Thaksin's other citizenships as hiving been forced upon him, not so of Abhisit.

Thaksin had the choice to come back to Thailand rather than take on a few other citizenships.

I'd say that Abhisit didn't have much choice about where he was born.

[Oberkommando]

There goes the election.

How do you figure?

It's called wishful thinking Insight.

Wishful thinking would be hoping for a proper democratic system in Thailand, with a proper rule of law enforced by an honest judiciary, and free and fair elections with no military interference in politics.

None of which Thailand will see for the foreseeable future and this military backed Democrat administration being given another term is a direct hindrance to any progress towards those goals.

[mca]

Can a Thai holding dual citizenship be PM? That's the crux.

Nothing in the constitution prohibits it.

Thanks. That's all I wanted to know.

[Oberkommando]

/edit - has becoming a Montenegrin damaged Mr T's popularity?

He wasn't born, raised and educated in Montenegro though, nor has he been evasive with the truth when confronted over it as Abhisit has. Many will see Thaksin's other citizenships as hiving been forced upon him, not so of Abhisit.

Thaksin had the choice to come back to Thailand rather than take on a few other citizenships.

I'd say that Abhisit didn't have much choice about where he was born.

Abhisit chose to lie or at the very least be economical with the truth regarding his British citizenship, only now admitting it as he's backed into a corner with solid evidence against him.

Thaksin had the choice to come back and be thrown in jail by people that couldn't beat him at politics.

[barney42bb]

You cannot give up or renounce British Citizenship it is always available under whatever mechanism that you obtained it in the first place

It Can be revoked however.

[whybother]

Can a Thai holding dual citizenship be PM? That's the crux.

Nothing in the constitution prohibits it.

From one of the links above.

“The Thai government does not allow its citizens to hold dual nationalities, except if the other country agrees to grant citizenship to that Thai person, in which case he/she can use that as well. If he/she uses the other citizenship to reside in Thailand, then they will be subject to the laws as they apply to foreigners. If he/she uses the Thai citizenship, they have the same rights as normal Thai citizens."

[Oberkommando]

About 90 people died in clashes between protesters and armed troops during the two-month Red Shirt demonstration, which ended in May 2010 with a deadly military crackdown.

Conveniently leaving out the part where the red shirt "demonstrations" burned down half of Bangkok, grenaded the BTS and shot a lot of police themselves. All left out making an uninformed reader develop an opinion without all the facts.. Nice reporting there AP.

Only after being shot at with live ammunition though.

Sometimes people get annoyed when they are shot at and then God forbid, fight back.

[Insight]

Abhisit has never won a general election so this will be new territory for him.

As I said previously if there were any credible opposition whatsoever the Dems would lose.

Will his citizenship be a factor? Absolutely, how big a factor we'll need to wait and see.

/edit - has becoming a Montenegrin damaged Mr T's popularity?

He wasn't born, raised and educated in Montenegro though, nor has he been evasive with the truth when confronted over it as Abhisit has. Many will see Thaksin's other citizenships as hiving been forced upon him, not so of Abhisit.

"Forced up on him" - you mean the results of running away from a corruption court case?

Anyway, have said it before but worth repeating - Abhisit speaks Thai, he looks Thai, he has chosen to serve Thailand and he has all the necessary Thai documentation. That's good enough for most Thais.

[whybother]

Abhisit chose to lie or at the very least be economical with the truth regarding his British citizenship, only now admitting it as he's backed into a corner with solid evidence against him.

Thaksin had the choice to come back and be thrown in jail by people that couldn't beat him at politics.

A politician being economical with the truth? That's nothing new is it? But I think Thaksin beats Abhisit hands down with that one.

[philw]

Thais are extremely nationalistic. Can see his British citizenship being a factor turning voters away from him.

Montenegrin citizenship (that was actively applied for) of course has no such negative impact at the polls

Correct.

He's not standing, so it's irrelevant.

[TAWP]

Can a Thai holding dual citizenship be PM? That's the crux.

Nothing in the constitution prohibits it.

From one of the links above.

“The Thai government does not allow its citizens to hold dual nationalities, except if the other country agrees to grant citizenship to that Thai person, in which case he/she can use that as well. If he/she uses the other citizenship to reside in Thailand, then they will be subject to the laws as they apply to foreigners. If he/she uses the Thai citizenship, they have the same rights as normal Thai citizens."

What did your reply had to do with my post...?

[whybother]

What did your reply had to do with my post...?

Giving more information to your answer to mca.

Sorry. I'll try to avoid it next time.

[philw]

Can a Thai holding dual citizenship be PM? That's the crux.

Nothing in the constitution prohibits it.

Thanks. That's all I wanted to know.

My understanding, and I could well be wrong, is that at 18 or so, one has to choose one citizenship or the other.

That there is a law somewhere that forbids Thai people from holding dual citizenship.

Whether or not it's in the constitution I don't know but I'm pretty sure that any second citizenship should be ( although not necessarily is ) renounced in order to assume sole Thai citizenship.

[Thai at Heart]

Well, if it all goes wrong over here, he should fit in quite well with the Lib Dems in the UK.

Who knows, maybe Cameron or Boris used to have him to make toast and warm their bog seats in previous years.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Thai at Heart

[dumpling]

COOL! There is some hope for me, first a few smart moves then gather some influential friends, form a political party with other fellow Brits and then get voted in.A good start reclaiming the empire with Thailand being the first country.

Edited February 24, 2011 by dumpling

[TAWP]

What did your reply had to do with my post...?

Giving more information to your answer to mca.

Sorry. I'll try to avoid it next time.

Giving more info is ok, but in this case it would just add to the confusion since your post had nothing to do with the election laws and Abhisit's eligibility to stand for election, that in extension was what he was asking about.

Thailands stance on dual citizenship is off-topic and, as long as you have it, besides the point.

[lungmi]

A friend of mine is German, his wife Thai, their baby is born in UK.

After three years the parents can decide if the baby is UK citizen, but has to give up Thai or German nationality, or UK..

The Nationality Act from the UNO (2001) allows two nationalities. (Thailand signed)

Special agreements between the countries are possible.

Another friend is German, his wife Thai, 3 children are born in Thailand. They live in Germany. One daughter already could buy land in Thailand, not the parents. But if she wants to be officer for the German government, she has to give up her Thai nationality.

Informal information, laws change quicker than I my underwear, and I'm not dirty.

[Oberkommando]

Anyway, have said it before but worth repeating - Abhisit speaks Thai, he looks Thai, he has chosen to serve Thailand and he has all the necessary Thai documentation. That's good enough for most Thais.

Most Thais didn't vote for him, and most Thais wouldn't if there were any alternatives.

[Scott]

The topic is about the current PM. It isn't about members of another prominent family and it isn't about the US President. Off topic posts and quotes deleted.

[TAWP]

Anyway, have said it before but worth repeating - Abhisit speaks Thai, he looks Thai, he has chosen to serve Thailand and he has all the necessary Thai documentation. That's good enough for most Thais.

Most Thais didn't vote for him, and most Thais wouldn't if there were any alternatives.

Yes, just as most people didn't vote for PPP and most people will not vote for PT next election...

[walterego]

This comment is just another opinion like so many cast here on TV and many will consider it naive or perhaps not in their own agendas interest. None the less I want to express it.

The way he (Aphisit) rose to power was terrible, wrong and undemocratic, robbing the people of their vote... That said I honestly believe he is potentially the greatest modern leader Thailand may have ever had as yet. I believe he offers us foreigners the greatest hope of more welcome business and family opportunitys that will mutually benefit his country and us Farangs. I pray sincerely that he is given the opportunity to rule without sabotage and wholeheartedly believe that he will at some point bring the nation to an election. An election that for the benefit of Thailand he needs to win. He offers Thailand, its people and us foreigners the greatest chance it has ever had in a long time if he is given the chance without interference. The political tightrope he walks is a long and very dangerous one. His challenges massive. I wish this man (Ahpisit) the very, very best. I look forward to the election that I honestly believe he will one day initiate and I think the greatest day for Thailand will be if he wins it.

Good luck Prime Minister. You most certainly need it.

[fxe1200]

Anyway, have said it before but worth repeating - Abhisit speaks Thai, he looks Thai, he has chosen to serve Thailand and he has all the necessary Thai documentation. That's good enough for most Thais.

Most Thais didn't vote for him, and most Thais wouldn't if there were any alternatives.

Talking about alternatives: I think almost anybody here can run this country the way it is being run. Or put it this way: Money talks and bullshit walks.

[Oberkommando]

Anyway, have said it before but worth repeating - Abhisit speaks Thai, he looks Thai, he has chosen to serve Thailand and he has all the necessary Thai documentation. That's good enough for most Thais.

Most Thais didn't vote for him, and most Thais wouldn't if there were any alternatives.

Yes, just as most people didn't vote for PPP and most people will not vote for PT next election...

Incorrect. The PPP won a general election. They got the most amount of votes totalling 26,293,456.

Thus, most Thais voted for PPP.

Don't forget the polls in 2007 showed the Democrats with a massive lead going into the elections, but they couldn't make that count at the ballot box. I suspect that may happen again this year.

[Thai at Heart]

This comment is just another opinion like so many cast here on TV and many will consider it naive or perhaps not in their own agendas interest. None the less I want to express it.

The way he (Aphisit) rose to power was terrible, wrong and undemocratic, robbing the people of their vote... That said I honestly believe he is potentially the greatest modern leader Thailand may have ever had as yet. I believe he offers us foreigners the greatest hope of more welcome business and family opportunitys that will mutually benefit his country and us Farangs. I pray sincerely that he is given the opportunity to rule without sabotage and wholeheartedly believe that he will at some point bring the nation to an election. An election that for the benefit of Thailand he needs to win. He offers Thailand, its people and us foreigners the greatest chance it has ever had in a long time if he is given the chance without interference. The political tightrope he walks is a long and very dangerous one. His challenges massive. I wish this man (Ahpisit) the very, very best. I look forward to the election that I honestly believe he will one day initiate and I think the greatest day for Thailand will be if he wins it.

Good luck Prime Minister. You most certainly need it.

Hold your horses, if it turns out that Abhisit will have to actively renounce his British citizenship, just wait until the law that all dual nationality is banned under Thai law. Then see what it does for the potential of us farangs with our mixed blood kids to contribute to Thai society.

Issues like this have a funny way of turning around the wrong way, lest we forget that it wasn't that long ago that a Thai woman married to a farang couldn't own land.

[HardenedSoul]

The Thais ought to consider themselves fortunate that they've got a PM with a superior British education.

[MaxYakov]

Can a Thai holding dual citizenship be PM? That's the crux.

Apparently so - TiT. I'd wager that at least he could produce his birth certificate, something another great world leader seems to be unable to do.

[DP25]

They got the most amount of votes totalling 26,293,456.

Thus, most Thais voted for PPP.

Just in case there are still a few out there that aren't aware of this lie that "most" Thais voted for PPP, they received a bit under 37% of the vote.

[phiphidon]

They got the most amount of votes totalling 26,293,456.

Thus, most Thais voted for PPP.

Just in case there are still a few out there that aren't aware of this lie that "most" Thais voted for PPP, they received a bit under 37% of the vote.

What was the percentage of the Democrat vote?

[whybother]

Incorrect. The PPP won a general election. They got the most amount of votes totalling 26,293,456.

Thus, most Thais voted for PPP.

Don't forget the polls in 2007 showed the Democrats with a massive lead going into the elections, but they couldn't make that count at the ballot box. I suspect that may happen again this year.

They didn't "win" the election.

They got the most seats, and bought together a couple of other parties to get a majority to form government.