Public opinion to determine national reform strategy

[sjaak327]

Well not the 2007 constitution of course, as it was yet another coup fuelled constitution. As to hope, there is little hope that Thailand returns to a democracy that resembles the one they had after 2007 let alone the one they had after 1997. And it is clear to see that whilst both had their flaws, they are much more democratic than the one on the horizon, that much is absolutely clear.

One just needs the ability to read between the lines to come to that conclusion. Actually, they don't really try to hide their true intentions, so just reading will do nicely.

Maybe in 20 years they can return to a true democracy, where a government with a clear mandate actually can make a difference.

Well why not the 2007 constitution as starting point. It did have various improvements even real lawyers agreed on. The only blob you might call the last article (amnesty for some).

I do disagree that Thailand can return to a true democracy, it never was one.

Don't be silly Rubl. I understand your continued need to find reasons for the coup, but precious little people would claim that Thailand past the people's constitution wasn't a real democracy, It certainly was.

It might not have been perfect (serveral laws that limit freedom of speech come to mind, one that we even cannot discuss on here), but it certainly was a democratic society.

The way this is going, we will probably have to wait 10,20 years before we can even approach the democratic level we had prior to the 2006 coup.

We might have elections somwhere next year (and that remains a big IF), but they won't really matter, and any goverment no matter how big the mandate, will be severely limited in what it can actually do.

[rubl]

Well not the 2007 constitution of course, as it was yet another coup fuelled constitution. As to hope, there is little hope that Thailand returns to a democracy that resembles the one they had after 2007 let alone the one they had after 1997. And it is clear to see that whilst both had their flaws, they are much more democratic than the one on the horizon, that much is absolutely clear.

One just needs the ability to read between the lines to come to that conclusion. Actually, they don't really try to hide their true intentions, so just reading will do nicely.

Maybe in 20 years they can return to a true democracy, where a government with a clear mandate actually can make a difference.

Well why not the 2007 constitution as starting point. It did have various improvements even real lawyers agreed on. The only blob you might call the last article (amnesty for some).

I do disagree that Thailand can return to a true democracy, it never was one.

Don't be silly Rubl. I understand your continued need to find reasons for the coup, but precious little people would claim that Thailand past the people's constitution wasn't a real democracy, It certainly was.

It might not have been perfect (serveral laws that limit freedom of speech come to mind, one that we even cannot discuss on here), but it certainly was a democratic society.

The way this is going, we will probably have to wait 10,20 years before we can even approach the democratic level we had prior to the 2006 coup.

We might have elections somwhere next year (and that remains a big IF), but they won't really matter, and any goverment no matter how big the mandate, will be severely limited in what it can actually do.

Don't be silly, my dear chap. With local overlords still being able to dictate what their underlings should do, with political families grabbing billions from taxpayers, with a criminal fugitive allowed to control his cabinet from afar I doubt real democrats would call Thailand a 'real democracy'.

Anyway, I just read that the CDC will take up at least parts of the 2007 constitution in their draft. Of course since no one saw the draft yet and we've had a lot of talks and speculation we can wonder. Looking forward to get my hands on an English version of a (near) final draft.