Selection Of Cabinet A Key Test For New Thai PM

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BURNING ISSUE

Selection of Cabinet a key test for new PM

By Avudh Panananda

The Nation

The people have spoken loud and clear - Pheu Thai has a clear mandate to lead the next government and Yingluck Shinawatra is poised to become the first female prime minister of Thailand.

After about 70 per cent of votes counted on Sunday, Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva conceded defeat and offered his congratulations to Yingluck and her party.

Shortly following Abhisit's announcement, Yingluck thanked her rival and outgoing prime minister for ensuring a free and fair vote. In a show of humility, she said she did not view her party's successful outcome as victory but a chance to serve the people.

Abhisit and Yingluck together set the stage for a peaceful transition of power. But will the opposing sides heed the voice of the people?

The country must strike a balance between street and mainstream politics. Stability will remain illusory if the red and yellow shirts take turn to protest.

Yingluck's most urgent and challenging task is to dispel the climate of mutual suspicion among differing political stripes, paving the way for reconciliation.

The Lower House of Parliament will convene its first session by August 2 to elect a speaker and two deputies. The House vote to elect the prime minister is likely to take place the following week.

The Pheu Thai-led coalition has about a month to assemble a Cabinet that is credible, effective and inspiring.

Yingluck is bound for a rocky start if she picks her ministers based on political expediency.

Political commentators concur that reconciliation is a top priority and that the country won't move forward unless political stability is achieved through fence-mending.

How Yingluck chooses to fill Defence, Interior and Justice portfolios will be a litmus test of her leadership.

Ministers in charge of the military, local administration and law enforcement will play a key role in determining whether efforts to bring about reconciliation fail or succeed.

Last year's riots and bloodshed involved the military and the red shirts. The work of the Truth for Reconciliation Commission is expected to be completed next year and the findings to lay out the facts and not apportion blame.

Yingluck and her ministers will have to thread their way, otherwise they might end up facing a revolt either from the barracks or the red shirts. The sought-after reconciliation, if mishandled, could backfire to inflict more harm on society.

The reconciliation risk will increase by leaps and bounds if the amnesty issue, particularly pertaining to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is made part of the so-called "fence-mending" process.

An out-of-turn amnesty for Thaksin will anger his opponents. Incomplete truth about the political violence may inflame rather than defuse the tension. But at the same time, key players may find it difficult to come to terms with the truth.

Pheu Thai is poised to lead a five-party coalition of 299 of 500 votes in the House. Its controlling majority is, however, a secondary factor to ensure the government's survival.

Yingluck's leadership will be a decisive factor for her success or downfall.

If Yingluck could bypass partisanship in order to fill key positions with capable hands, then she may well be on the path of success in fostering political stability.

Should she surround herself with the wrong crowd, she might find herself out of the job in mere months.

-- The Nation 2011-07-05

[sillybilly]

Sorry if this a silly question but am I right in assuming that Yingluck can`t make any major government decisions until at least the beginng of August, so we will have about 3 weeks of listening to what her ideas are and what things she may try to do or change??

[mccw]

For sure she doesn't have to think who she will appoint; thaksin will make all the decisions for her.

[siampolee]

Noting the absence of the more vocal volatile Red Shirt brigade does indeed give one a little confidence however only time will tell if we are going to see a decent administration running the country, the honeymoon is on for now, but for how long?

One is led to wonder how the Red Shirt brigade are feeling about the omitting of their leaders from the new government , will they ( the Red Shirts) eventually turn upon the hand that fed them and used them ?

Will there possibly be an unholy alliance twixt the red and yellow factions to remove the government or will power be usurped by another section of society ?

The waters are indeed calm at the moment although muddied, perhaps in the not too distant future those calm muddied waters may become somewhat more turbulent as the used and the abused come to the conclusion that they were just pawns in the game that is Thai politics.

Indeed one needs, " a long spoon to sup with the devil". That applies to all the sides involved in the Machiavellian plots to date.

[sillybilly]

_{Sorry, one more question that I asked in an earlier post but can`t seem to get an answer...}

_{Are the Red shirts still going to continue their monthly protests or is that going to stop now??}

[whybother]

_{Sorry, one more question that I asked in an earlier post but can`t seem to get an answer...}

_{Are the Red shirts still going to continue their monthly protests or is that going to stop now??}

You might have to wait 2 weeks (19th) to find out.