I can lend Thailand my cat. She's neutral and don't take side. LOL

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

Do you seriously think this is a time for elections? Do you want the same crooks running the country? Without a PM the country can not function properly. So even a unelected one should be welcome until elections can be held and the constitution change so crooks like the PRDC and DEMS have can not control everything. In this case i beleive someone nuetral is better that just the army giving orders

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They have had 3 elections already and the same party won all 3 over the past 10 years, do you really think it is going to be any different when the next one is allowed ???

Maybe its time for them ot accept the peoples vote 3 TIMES ALREADY and the peoples vote means nothing

Democracy my A $ S

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My money is on some one with the initials AV and answers to the name Mark... alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

Send your money to me then, because you are wrong lol

I can lend Thailand my cat. She's neutral and don't take side. LOL

LMAO! Thank You! Much needed guffaw...laffed so hard the dog farted! Cheers

My money is on some one with the initials AV and answers to the name Mark...

I don't think so....The last time his performance wasn't so good. They need some old guy who doesn't want to stay in politics afterwards. So he doesn't need to please everyone.

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

How's that a problem? Unelected senators owe nothing to any party.

My money is on some one with the initials AV and answers to the name Mark...

Gotta admit he's the only one who came up with a framework for reforms...

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

How's that a problem? Unelected senators owe nothing to any party.

Half of the Senate are elected, 1 member from each province. Rest are appointed by 'Senate Selection committee'.

Last election were held end of March 2014. Term is 6 years (I think)

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Further More Australia is "gravely concerned" about Thai coup.

Thailand has equaled Australia's impressive performance of 3 Prime Ministers in as many months established in 2013.

It's a neck and neck race for the fourth PM After Thailand defeating Australia in the volley ball this week Australia is gravely concerned

about Thailand appointing it's next PM before Australia and thus taking the lead.

However PM Abbott is within a wink of the lead and maybe ousted by his party very soon after numerous corruption scandals and a disastrous

budget. Abbott has firmed in the betting today after Thailand's new PM arrested all opposition.

Thailand and Australia are even in the betting after Surachai's announcement.

However the military was not involved in Australian politics in any way , therein lies the problem here , much better reforms on its way

That maybe so, however Aust has reasonably honest dedicated politicians and don't require military intervention to sort out the mess.

A neutral shade of yellow

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Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

Did they not dissolve the Senate too? I'm 100% sure I've seen that somewhere the last 24 hours.

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

How's that a problem? Unelected senators owe nothing to any party.

No they "only" owe something to the people that appointed them.

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

Just remember that half of senate is elect too, and these senators are always in charge too ....

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

Did they not dissolve the Senate too? I'm 100% sure I've seen that somewhere the last 24 hours.

Reading up a little, 21 hours ago it was specified that the Senate would stay in place. Well that really put the correct color on this coup.

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

The only 'farce' around here has been the PTP.

Now they are gone. Good riddance I say. They are getting what they deserve. Hopefully soon the full weight of the law will come down on them as they are forced to give back their ill gotten gains and are awarded a long stay room at the Bangkok Hilton (prison, just in case any red supporter tries to pick this apart).

My money is on some one with the initials AV and answers to the name Mark...

Highly unlikely as Abhisit would not be seen as neutral by many.

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

Did they not dissolve the Senate too? I'm 100% sure I've seen that somewhere the last 24 hours.

No, they did NOT.

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

Did they not dissolve the Senate too? I'm 100% sure I've seen that somewhere the last 24 hours.

Reading up a little, 21 hours ago it was specified that the Senate would stay in place. Well that really put the correct color on this coup.

color?

Funny thing - when I put my car into neutral it won't go!

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Sounds great but who exactly is neutral here ? Oh what tangled webs they weave.

A foreigner who thinks Thai people come from Taiwan ...so basically noone.

My money is on some one with the initials AV and answers to the name Mark...

Highly unlikely as Abhisit would not be seen as neutral by many.

I can just imagine that....

My money is on some one with the initials AV and answers to the name Mark...

Gotta admit he's the only one who came up with a framework for reforms...

sorry to say I have no confidence in AV or Suthep to make the changes needed to shore up the constitution - legal system and election reform

To accomplish this Thailand needs to engage some very smart people and even bring some expertise from outside Thailand

Everywhere I look in the Thai country all I see are things needing fixed - having 25k corruption cases on the books for years is just insane - the willingness to let people out on bail when they have obviously broken the conditions - the defamation laws....the list is endless - police reform - accountability - 5 year ban when it should be a life ban - a government clinging to power when most of it is gone and the rest all being investigated for various crimes - penalties for corruption are a joke - the resources allocated to bring people to justice are a joke

If this country wants to get serious about democracy then they need to get serious about enforcing it and bringing those to justice that abuse it - otherwise they'd be better off without rushing into it again until they have all the holes plugged and the country is stable and happy

where on earth do you start with reforms

He will be neutral according to suthep

From the BBC just now "Military leader General Prayuth Chan-Ocha - who has appointed himself the new prime minister - said troops were taking power "in order for the country to return to normal quickly"".

Can anyone confirm this or is just Jonathan Head off on his normal tangent i.e., not letting the truth to stand in the way of a good story. Maybe the BBC is just re-cycling news.

Now what a huge surprise, I guessed that may happen with all his recent media exposure. Got to like it too much!

Well, what a surprise. A junta allows unelected senators to choose a "neutral" PM. What a farce.

So you are telling us that the elected senators are not going to be part of the process ?

Still it will be better than having 26 unelected appointed acting caretaker cabinet ministers calling themselves a government holding the country to ransom by refusing to step aside (because they were told to refuse by the convicted criminal on the run who appointed them) in order that the country could move ahead to reform and a free and fair election.

seems the red supporters dont like the idea of a neutral appointed head of state, they want thaksin to keep pulling the strings.

A neutral PM will make the framework for free and fair elections and this is feared.

Think Mr. T spend billions on vote buying than half his MPs go into jail. Than the elections must be repeated and he doesn't win.

Billions lost and no way to recover them with corruption.

if you honestly think Thaksin is out of pocket in any way shape or form you are in for a shock

In my opinion it will be disclosed that the billions or perhaps even into the trillion mark that is suspected to have been extorted from the Thai people by this PTP/Yhakisn administration will have been used to primarily pay Thaksin - he in turn will have been paying red leaders up to a million baht a month for their bought support who in turn spread out a supplied Thaksin fund to the rest at varying rates dependant on rank and stature, other funds also made available to government officials MP's - heads of state agencies etc - I guess the list is huge but so was the amount suspected of being stolen

Thaksin never uses his own money. He gives people jobs from which they can extract taxpayers' money and forces them to use some of that to buy votes, rent mobs, hire gunmen and grenadiers etc.

What is the plan for a legislature or will the Senate be empowered to enact laws?

From the BBC just now "Military leader General Prayuth Chan-Ocha - who has appointed himself the new prime minister - said troops were taking power "in order for the country to return to normal quickly"".

Can anyone confirm this or is just Jonathan Head off on his normal tangent i.e., not letting the truth to stand in the way of a good story. Maybe the BBC is just re-cycling news.

My money is on Suthep.

He let us out of this crisis.

Hopefully in the not too distant future, Thailand can have a leader that loves Thailand and it's people, who's fair hand plays a fair hand to all, and that the only thing on the agenda is Thailand's growth and stability. Do not say it is impossible. It just needs a leader to show the way, have true belief and compassion, and a true desire to see Thailand prosper. Not prosper for his or her own gain, but for the whole country and its people to prosper, and gain the respect of the international community as a whole. The next steps taken are of the highest importance for Thailand in the eyes of the world, and for the good of the country. A proud nation does not want to be the laughing stock of the global community. Now is the time someone may just stand up and do it.

Whilst I and I suspect most readers agree with your sentiment, firstly the Thais would have to know what the global community was and then they'd have to care about how it viewed them. Education - Education - Education might get them to know about it but to care about what it thought of them they'd have to be part of it, they'd have to see themselves other than Thais, as international people of the world - that's a big one for them - 'you can take the girl out of Thailand but you can't take Thailand out of the girl'. (here for Thailand can be substituted 'the bar'). A proud nation they are, in my view & the Thais in it - proud to be Thai - I've seen no evidence though (in my ten years here) of the Thais wanting to be proud of being a part of the (IMHO at best dubious, at worst fictitious) international community of which you speak.

A welcome development indeed. There was a stalemate in the country on a scale wholly unprecedented. It was going nowhere. It was all tangled up in knots. But that has changed. Completely. The rallies have stopped. There is peace on the streets of Bangkok. The violence, grenade attacks - all of that has ceased. The fiery speeches have ceased. Seven months of street protests have come to an end. The Senate, independent agencies, and the courts are fully functioning, and are operating safely and without intimidation for the first time in ages. And now a truly functional interim administration will be put in place, as opposed to the profoundly dysfunctional one that was the defining characteristic of the Yingluck administration. The Senate has been clear that they will choose someone acceptable to both sides. They are earnest in that. A bureaucratic administration will likely ensue. And then the process of talks will continue. Interim means, of course, interim - temporary. The goal of working towards a general election with a package of reforms that is the result of the pooled efforts and consensus of all parties will likely remain the primary goal. The Thaksin strings have been cut. What remains is much hope and a chance for a fresh start. It's as hopeful an outcome as one could have hoped.

...yeah, and now that those scary grenade attacks have finally ended forever, thailand will be a safe place for 20 year old teenagers who want to attend two semesters of school here....finally parents who want to send their children here for schooling, won't have to worry about whether thailand is unsafe. Now there are now more grenades and the red carpets have just been cleaned for all 20 year old student from every country to fly on over and have a seat in class....and parents can finally breath easier. Amazing Thailand. Hopes that ok share-yl...sweet dreams