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BANGKOK: Thailand won praise overseas for its return to civilian
rule, but its Cabinet full of newcomers Thursday faced immediate
doubts at home over its competency and plans for ousted premier
Thaksin Shinawatra.
The European Union hailed the kingdom’s return
to democracy, while the United States announced a resumption of
military aid suspended after the coup in September 2006.
But at home, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s
government faced widespread criticism over a Cabinet that even he
described as “ugly” because so many relatively inexperienced
figures dominated top positions.
Samak, who led the People Power Party (PPP) to
victory in December elections by openly campaigning as Thaksin’s
proxy, is also trying to temper expectations that he would quickly
grant the exiled billionaire an amnesty to allow his speedy return
home.
After the coup, a military-installed tribunal
banned Thaksin and 110 of his top aides from politics for five
years.
Thaksin faces separate corruption charges filed
by military-backed investigators, which could land him and his wife
in prison.
His wife has told a Thai court that he would
return home in May to defend himself, but Thaksin has given no firm
plans for ending his self-imposed exile in Britain, where he has
bought the English Premier League football club Manchester City.
Samak said late Wednesday that he would only
consider an amnesty for Thaksin in two years, which he said would
allow time for political tensions to ease.
The leaders of anti-Thaksin street protests that
precipitated the coup have already threatened to stage fresh
demonstrations if the new government interferes with the court cases
against Thaksin.
Samak’s efforts to put off discussion of an
amnesty may help appease those critics, said political analyst
Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University.
“Samak needs breathing space to actually
govern the country. This is a maneuver to keep the pressure away and
then to create a working space and time to prove his worth,”
Thitinan said.
So far the military has indicated that it plans
to stay out of politics.
“There should not be any more coups because
that would affect our country’s credibility,” air force chief
Chalit Pukbhasuk said Thursday as he announced that the junta has
officially dissolved. “We must have confidence in democratic
rule.”
Analysts worry that the new cabinet lacks the
political savvy needed to pull the economy out of the doldrums while
steering through the minefield of competing interests within
Samak’s six-party coalition.
Close Thaksin aides were given choice
posts—leading the finance and foreign ministries—while his
brother-in-law was named a deputy prime minister.
“It shows that he does not even have the power
to select his own cabinet,” said political analyst Prayad
Hongthongkam, who lectures at several universities in Bangkok.
“The cabinet list shows that this is really a government of
‘proxies’ for Thaksin. Several ministers have no qualifications
for their jobs. They got their jobs as political payback.”
-- AFP
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