After winning the general election in May, the progressive Move Forward party in Thailand promised to introduce bold democratic reforms in the Southeast Asian nation.
Now, as Parliament gathers on Wednesday to vote for prime minister for a second time in less than a week, the fragile coalition that Move Forward has cobbled together is on the verge of falling apart.
“Thailand is not ready to change,” said Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi, a political scientist at Thammasat University in Bangkok.
“People in the establishment are not going to let change happen.”Opposition parties tend to come and go in Thailand.
Each time, they face rough headwinds brought on by the military-appointed Senate and royalist allies that form the bedrock of the country’s conservative political establishment.
Persons:
”, Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi
Organizations:
Thammasat University
Locations:
Thailand, Bangkok, “