Thaksin Shinawatra

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra (Thai: ทักษิณ ชินวัตร, IPA: [tʰáksǐn tɕʰinnawát]^ⓘ; born July 26, 1949), Thai politician, is the current caretaker prime minister of Thailand and the leader of the populist Thai Rak Thai party.

Before entering politics Thaksin founded Shin Corporation and Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand's largest mobile operator, making one of Thailand 's richest individuals in Thailand.

He is married to Khunying Potjaman Shinawatra and has three children: Panthongtae, Pinthongtha and Praethongtharn.

Family background

Thaksin's great-grandfather Seng Sae Khu was a Hakka Chinese immigrant from Meizhou, Guangdong who arrived in Siam in the 1860s and settled in Chiang Mai in 1908. His eldest son, Chiang Sae Khu, was born in Chanthaburi in 1890 and married a Thai woman, called Saeng Somna. Chiang's eldest son, Sak, adopted the Thai surname Shinawatra ("does good routinely") in 1938 and the rest of the family also adopted it. Thaksin's father, Lert, was born in Chiang Mai in 1919 and married Yindi Ramingwong.

In 1968, Lert Shinawatra entered politics and became an MP for Chiang Mai and deputy leader of the now-defunct Liberal party. Lert Shinawatra quit politics in 1975

Thaksin's great-grandfather Seng Sae Khu made his fortune through tax farming. The Khu/Shinawatra later founded Shinawatra Silks and then by moving into finance, construction and property development. Lert Shinawatra, opened a coffee shop, grew oranges and flowers in Chiang Mai's San Kamphaeng district, and opened two movie theatres, a gas station, and a car and motorcycle dealership. By the time Thaksin was born, the Shinawatra family was one of the richest and most influential families in Chiang Mai

Early life

Thaksin was born in Sankamphaeng, Chiang Mai. As a young boy, Thaksin helped his father brew and serve coffee. At 16, he helped run one of his father's cinemas.

Thaksin attended Montfort College, an elite private high school in Chiang Mai.

Police career

He went on to the Thai Police Cadet Academy and upon graduation, he joined the Royal Thai Police Department in 1973. He later went on to obtain a master's degree in criminal justice from the Eastern Kentucky University in the United States, in 1975. In 1978 he received a doctorate in criminal justice at Sam Houston State University in Texas. He reached the position of Deputy Superintendent of the Policy and Planning Sub-division, General Staff Division, Metropolitan Police Bureau. Thaksin quit the police force in 1980.

Business career

Thaksin and his wife, Potjaman, ventured into various businesses, ranging from selling silk products and movies to property development and renting computers to government agencies. Some of these ventures failed, and the couple was heavily in debt.

From 1982-1984, Thaksin founded the first companies to introduce cable TV, paging devices and mobile phones to Thai consumers. The Shinawatra Computer and Communications Group was founded in 1987 and listed in the Securities Exchange of Thailand in 1990. One of the group's members, Shinawatra Paging, is now Thailand's largest mobile phone operator AIS. In 1990, Thaksin successfully won a bid to operate the Thaicom Satellite.

Entry into politics

Political debut as Foreign Minister in the first Chuan government

Thaksin entered politics in late 1994 under the invitation of Chamlong Srimuang, who had just reclaimed the position of Palang Dharma Party (PDP) leader from Boonchu Rojanastien. In a subsequent purge of PDP Cabinet ministers, Thaksin was appointed Foreign Minister in December 1994 as a non-MP minister.

The PDP soon withdrew from the government over the Sor Por Kor 4-01 land reform corruption scandal, causing the government of Chuan Leekpai to collapse.

PDP leader and Deputy Prime Minister in the Banharn government

Chamlong, strongly criticized for mishandling internal PDP politics in the last days of the Chuan-government, retired from politics and hand-picked Thaksin as new PDP leader. Thaksin ran for election for the first time in July 1995, winning a parliamentary seat from Bangkok.

However, the weakened and internally divided PDP won only 23 seats, compared to 46 in the 1992 elections. Thaksin joined the government of Banharn Silpa-acha and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Bangkok traffic.

In May 1996, Thaksin and 4 other PDP ministers quit the Banharn Cabinet (while retaining their MP seats) to protest widespread allegations of corruption, prompting a Cabinet reshuffle. Many have claimed that Thaksin's move was designed to help give Chamlong Srimuang a boost in the June 1996 Bangkok Governor elections, which Chamlong returned from retirement to contest. [27]

Chamlong lost the election - he and incumbent Governor former PDP-member Krisda Arunwongse na Ayudhya were defeated by Pichit Rattakul, an independent.

Chamlong's failure to buttress the PDP's failing power base in Bangkok amplified internal divisions in the PDP, particularly between Chamlong's "temple" faction and Thaksin's faction. Soon afterwards, Chamlong announced he was retiring again from politics.

Thaksin and the PDP pulled out of the Banharn-government in August 1996. In a subsequent no-confidence debate, the PDP gave evidence against the Banharn government. Soon afterwards, Banharn dissolved Parliament in September 1996.

Fall of the PDP

Thaksin announced that he would not run in the subsequent November 1996 elections, but would remain as leader of the PDP.

He claimed that he wanted to devote his energies to campaigning for political reform and supporting other PDP candidates. Some speculated that Thaksin wanted to resign from the party leadership. The PDP suffered a fatal defeat in the elections, winning only 1 seat in Parliament. The PDP soon imploded, with most members resigning. However, the PDP is still in existence, with a different leadership and an insignificant presence in the political sphere.

Although there was much controversy about the root causes of the fall of the PDP, most agree that it was due to internal divisions in the party. Particularly divisive were conflicts between the Chamlong "temple" faction and subsequent generations of outsiders, including Thaksin. Many have noted that these divisions caused the party to have an inconsistent stand on whether or not to support the majority government party, resulting in voter cynicism.

Deputy Prime Minister in the Chavalit government

On 15 August 1997, Thaksin was invited to become Deputy Prime Minister in Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's government.

This occurred soon after the Thai Baht was floated and devalued in 2 July 1997, sparking the Asian Financial Crisis. Thaksin held this position for only 3 months, leaving on November 14 after Chavalit resigned.

During an unsuccessful censure debate on 27 September 1997, Democrat Suthep Thaugsuban accused Thaksin of profiting on insider information about the government's decision to float the Baht [28]. However, this accusation was not investigated during the subsequent Democrat or TRT governments During 1997, Thaksin's flagship company AIS suffered 1.8 billion THB in foreign exchange losses and saw it's debt more than double due to the devaluation. It was alleged, Thaksin's businesses had suffered much less from the devaluation than rival companies.

Formation of the Thai Rak Thai Party and the 2001 elections

Thaksin founded the Thai Rak Thai ("Thais Love Thais" - TRT) party in 1998 along with Somkid Jatusripitak, PDP ally Sudarat Keyuraphan, Purachai Piumsombun, and 19 others.

With a populist platform often attributed to Somkid, TRT promised universal access to healthcare, a 3-year debt moratorium for farmers, and 1 million THB development funds for all Thai villages.

After the fall of the Chuan-government in 2001, TRT won a sweeping victory in the January 2001 elections, the first election held under the People's Constitution of 1997.

It was the first time in Thai democratic history that a single party had won a governing mandate.

Prime Minister of Thailand

As Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra initiated many distinctive policies affecting the economy, public health, education, energy, drugs, and international relations.

He gained two landslide re-election victories [29] . Thaksin's policies have been particularly effective at alleviating rural poverty.

However, his government have been frequently challenged with allegations of dictatorship, demagogy, corruption, conflicts of interest, human rights offences, acting undiplomatically, and use of legal loopholes.

A controversial leader, he has also been the target of numerous allegations of lèse-majesté, treason, usurping religious and royal authority, selling assets to international investors, religious desecration, and siding with gods of darkness.

Economic and health policies

See also: Policies of the Thaksin government § Economic and health policies

See also: Thaksinomics

Thaksin's government has designed its policies to appeal to the impoverished majority, initiating programs like subsidized universal health care, village-managed development funds, low-interest agricultural loans, microcredit, infrastructure development, low-cost universal access to anti-retroviral HIV medication (ARVs), and the One-Tambon-One-Product (OTOP) rural small and medium enterprise development program.

Together called Thaksinomics, many feel that these policies are responsible for bringing about Thailand's economic recovery from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and substantially reducing rural poverty.

The GDP grew from THB 4.9 trillion to THB 7.1 trillion. Thailand repayed its Chuan-government debts to the International Monetary Fund 2 years ahead of schedule. Between 2000 and 2004, income in the poorest part of the country, the Northeast, rose 40 per cent while nation-wide poverty fell from 21.3 per cent to 11.3 per cent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand, outperformed other markets in the region.

Critics claim that Thaksinomics is little more than a Keynesian-style economic stimulus policy re-branded as something new and revolutionary. An academic has claimed that increased rural income resulting from anti-poverty projects has been spent on mobile phones, pickup trucks, and other flashy consumer items.

Thaksin's supporters have countered that no other democratically-elected Prime Minister has reduced poverty by as much as Thaksin.

Although successful in expanding access to ARVs, there have been concerns that a free trade agreement with the US could endanger Thailand's ability to produce generic HIV treatments.

Following Thaksin's refusal to accept the Premiership in the April 2006 elections, the Cabinet suspended a planned 1.8 trillion THB infrastructure investment plan. Economists have estimated that suspension of the plan could reduce GDP growth by up to 0.5%.

Anti-drug policies

See also: Policies of the Thaksin government § Anti-drug policies

Thaksin initiated several highly controversial policies to counter a boom in the Thai drug market, particularly in methamphetamines. After earlier anti-drug policies like border blocking (most methamphetamines are produced in Myanmar), public education, sports, and promoting peer pressure against drug use proved ineffective, Thaksin launched a multi-pronged suppression campaign that aimed to eradicate methamphetamine use in 3 months. The policy consisted of changing the punishment policy for drug addicts, setting provincial arrest and seizure targets, awarding government officials for achieving targets, targeting dealers, and "ruthless" implementation.

Over the next seven weeks, press reports indicate that more than 2,700 people were killed [30]. The Government claimed that only around 50 of the deaths were at the hands of the police. Human rights critics say a larg number were extrajudicially executed. The government went out of its way to publicize the campaign, through daily announcements of arrest, seizure, and death statistics.

Thaksin's popularity increased substantially despite some public revulsion with the government's approach .

The policy was effective in reducing drug consumption, especially in schools, at least in the short term. According to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, there was no indication that the drug situation worsened from 2002 onwards. However, a 2005 opinion poll found that 62% percent believed that drug abuse had increased from 2004 to 2005 and that 68% did not trust the government to solve the drug problem.

Education policies

See also: Policies of the Thaksin government § Education policies

Thaksin implemented a series of educational reforms during his government.

Chief among those reforms was school decentralization, as mandated by the 1997 People's Constitution. Decentralization would have delegated school management from the over-centralized and bureaucratized Ministry of Education to Tambon Administrative Organizations (TAOs). The plan met with massive widespread opposition from Thailand's 700,000 teachers, who would be deprived of their status as civil servants.

There was also widespread fear from teachers that TAOs lack the skills and capabilities required to manage schools. In the face of massive teacher protests and threats of school closure, Thaksin compromised and gave teachers whose schools were transferred to TAO management two years to transfer to other schools.

Other reforms included learning reform and related curricular decentralization, mostly through greater use of holistic education and less use of rote learning.

Thaksin also initiated the controversial "One District, One Dream School" project, aimed at developing the quality of schools to ensure that every district has at least one high-quality school. The project was criticized, with some claiming that the only beneficiaries were Thaksin and companies selling computers and educational equipment.

Thaksin also reformed the state university screening system. Whereas the former system relied exclusively on a series of nationally standardized exams, Thaksin pushed for a greater emphasis on senior high-school grades, claiming this would focus students on classroom learning rather than private entrance exam tutoring.

Thaksin's reforms were strongly attacked, with academics claiming that it would "tend to lead to inappropriate selection of students".

Thaksin also initiated the Income Contingency Loan program to increase access to higher education. Under the program, needy students may secure a loan to support their studies from vocational to university levels. Thai banks had traditionally not given education loans.

The policy was criticized by Somkiat Tangkitvanich, an economist from the TDRI, who claimed that, since few people from poor families that can further their education to university level, the policy was discriminatory.

Thaksin made Thailand one of the first supporters of Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, with the Thai Ministry of Education committing to purchase 600,000 units

Energy policies

See also: Policies of the Thaksin government § Energy policies

See also: Energy Industry Liberalization and Privatization (Thailand)

In energy policy, the Thaksin government continued the Chuan Leekpai government's privatization agenda, but with important changes. Whereas the Chuan government's post-Asian financial crisis policies sought economic efficiency through industry fragmentation and wholesale power pool competition, Thaksin's policies aimed to create national champions that could reliably support economic growth and become important players in regional energy markets. Elements of the Thaksin energy liberalization policy included:

• Privatization of the state-owned oil and gas company PTT
• Attempted privatization of the integrated state-owned electricity company EGAT, without seperating the generating and transmission businesses
• Attempted establishment of an independant regulating agency (traditionally, EGAT had been both an operator and a regulator)

Thaksin has been strongly criticized for attempting to privatize EGAT before the establishment of an independant regulating agency.

Thaksin also initiated a policy process to encourage renewable energy and energy conservation.

South Thailand insurgency

See also: South Thailand insurgency

A resurgence in violence began in 2001 in the three southern provinces of Thailand. There is much controversy about the causes of this escalation of the decades long insurgency. Attacks after 2001 concentrated on police, the military, and schools, but civilians have also been targets. Thaksin has been widely criticized for his management of the situation, in particular the storming of the Krue Se Mosque, the deaths of civilians at Tak Bai, and the unsolved kidnapping of Muslim-lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit. [31]

In March 2005, Thaksin established the National Reconciliation Commission, chaired by former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun to oversee efforts to bring peace to the troubled South. In its final report released in June 2006, the commission criticized the government's heavy-handed policies and recommended that the government soften its approach in dealing with the insurgency. [32]

Foreign policies

Thaksin was fiercely attacked for tasking diplomats with supporting domestic economic programs, e.g., promoting OTOP products. Surapong Jayanama, former ambassador to Vietnam claiming that Thaksin's policies were "demeaning".

Thaksin also initiated negotiations for several free trade agreements with China, Australia, Bahrain, India, and the US. This policy was also criticized, with claims that high-cost Thai industries could be wiped out. [33]

Thailand joined George W. Bush's multinational coalition in the invasion of Iraq, sending a 423-strong humanitarian contingent. It withdrew its troops on 10 September 2004. Two Thai soldiers died in Iraq in an insurgent attack.

Thaksin has also announced that Thailand would forsake foreign aid, and work with donor countries to assist in the development of neighbors in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

Thaksin drew criticism regarding the massacre at Tak Bai. [34]

Thaksin has also been attacked by influential former diplomats for acting undiplomatically with foreign leaders.

Kasit Pirom, former Thai ambassador to Japan and the United States, noted at an anti-Thaksin rally "When Khun Thaksin went to the United Nations to attend a joint UN-Asean session, he did not behave properly when addressing the session, which was co-chaired by the UN secretary-general and the Malaysian premier. In his address Thaksin did not mention the name of the Malaysian premier".

Thaksin has also been attacked for supporting Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai's campaign to become UN Secretary General.

2005 re-election

He was re-elected in the February 2005 elections with a landslide victory, sweeping 374 out of 500 seats in Parliament.

Other criticisms

There have also been complaints that Thaksin has been stacking the civil service and independent commissions with his relatives and business associates, for example by elevating his cousin, General Chaiyasit Shinawatra, to Army commander-in-chief. In August 2002, he was promoted from Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces Development Command to become Deputy Army Chief Both General Chaiyasit and Defense Minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh have denied charges of nepotism at the time. General Chaiyasit replaced General Surayud Chulanont (who was promoted to become Supreme Commander) as Army commander-in-chief in August 2003.

Thaksin was also accused of interference after the Senate appointed Wisut Montriwat (former Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance) to the position of Auditor General, replacing Jaruvan Maintaka. The Constitution Court has earlier found Jaruvan's nomination illegal and unconstitutional ; however, she refused to aknowledge her ouster without a direct order from the King. The Senate and State Audit Commission are technically an independent and non-partisan bodies.

Respected former Thai ambassador to the UN Asda Jayanama, in an anti-Thaksin rally, claimed that Thaksin's two state visits to India were made in order to negotiate a satellite deal for Thaksin's family-owned Shin Corporation. The accusation was countered by Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon. said Kantathi.

Thaksin has also been accused of being superstitious. His supporters have countered that he is in fact jestful. [35]

Political crisis of 2005-2006

See also: Thailand political crisis 2005-2006

Target of accusations by Sondhi Limthongkul

The political crisis was catalyzed by several accusations published by media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, a former Thaksin supporter. These included accusations that Thaksin:

• Committed lèse-majesté against the King
• Usurped the Royal powers of the King (see Temple of the Emerald Buddha incident)
• Restricted press freedom by suing Sondhi after Sondhi printed a slanderous sermon by a controversial monk (see Luang Ta Maha Bua incident)
• Masterminded the desecration of the Erawan shrine (see Phra Phrom Erawan Shrine incident)

Shin Corporation transaction

Main article :Thaksin Shinawatra $1.88 billion deal controversy

On January 23, 2006, the Shinawatra family sold their entire stake in Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings. The Shinawatra and Damapong families netted about 73 billion baht (about US$1.88 billion) tax-free from the sale, exploiting a regulation that individuals (as opposed to corporations) who sell shares on the stock exchange pay no capital gains tax.

The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the transaction. "The investigation concluded that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his daughter Pinthongta are clear from all wrongdoing," said SEC secretary-general Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala on February 23, 2006. However, the SEC did find that Thaksin's son, Panthongtae, violated rules with regard to information disclosure and public tender offers in transactions between 2000 and 2002 . He was fined 6 million THB (about 150,000USD). Allegations of insider trading by other Shinawatra family members, Shin Corporation Corp executives, and major shareholders were also investigated. No irregularities were found.

The transaction made the Prime Minister the target of accusations that he was selling an asset of national importance to a foreign entity, and hence selling out his nation. The Democrat party spokesman compared him to Saddam Hussein: "Saddam, though a brutal tyrant, still fought the superpower for the Iraqi motherland"

Supporters, however, counter that Thailand's mobile phone industry is highly competitive, and that little criticism was raised when the Norwegian firm Telenor acquired the country's second largest mobile operator. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva had earlier criticized Thaksin for not sufficiently opening up the Thai telecom sector to foreigners. Supporters further counter that the complete sale of Shin Corporation by the Shinawatra-Damapong families had been a long-standing demand of some public groups, as it would allow Thaksin to undertake his duties as Prime Minister without accusation of conflicts of interest.

Anti-Thaksin and pro-Thaksin rallies

See also: Thailand political crisis 2005-2006

Background

Thaksin faced pressure to resign following the sale of Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings.

Anti-Thaksin protestors, led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), consisted mainly of middle-class Bangkokians. They also included prominent socialites (dubbed the "Blue Blood Jet Set" by the Bangkok Post) and members of the Thai royal family.

Media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul was a prominent leader of the protests. These were joined by academics, students, supporters of the controversial Santi Asoke Buddhist sect (led by Thaksin's former mentor Chamlong Srimuang) and followers of the controversial monk Luang Ta Maha Bua. State enterprise employees opposed to privatization followed, even though most EGAT employees had supported privatization in early 2005. Protestors camped out for months outside Government House.

The protests were divisive. The controversial Dharmakaya Buddhist sect came out in support of Thaksin. Massive pro-Thaksin rallies were held in several provinces.

Several members of King Bhumibol's Privy Council asked protestors to seek a peaceful resolution to the situation. In response to Sondhi Limthongkul's "We Fight For the King" battle-cry, Supreme Commander General Ruengroj Mahasaranond said "Rivals should not involve the monarch in their quarrels".

Anti-Thaksin protestors demand royal intervention

On March 24, 2006 in front of a rally of 50,000 [36], Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva asked for King Bhumibol to appoint a replacement Prime Minister[37][38][39]. The People's Alliance for Democracy's (PAD), the Law Society of Thailand, and the Press Council of Thailand also called for royal intervention [40][41].

Demands for royal intervention met with much criticism. The King himself on 26 April dismissed the notion, saying that such an action would be unconstitutional. "Asking for a Royally appointed prime minister is undemocratic. It is, pardon me, a mess. It is irrational."

House dissolution and the April 2006 Legislative Election

See also: Thailand legislative election, 2006

House dissolution

Thaksin announced a House dissolution on 24 February 2006, in a bid to end the political crisis the allegations mentioned above.

General elections were scheduled for 2 April. In his weekly radio address following the announcement of his decision, the prime minister promised a series of new populist measures, including pay rises for government workers, an increase in the minimum wage and debt relief for farmers. The opposition Democrat, Chart Thai and Mahachon parties announced a boycott of the election on 27 February.

Thaksin was widely criticized for calling the snap elections. In an editorial, The Nation noted that the election "fails to take into consideration a major fallacy of the concept [of democracy], particularly in a less-developed democracy like ours, in which the impoverished, poorly informed masses are easily manipulated by people of his ilk. And Thaksin's manipulation has been well documented. [42]."

Election results

Thaksin's TRT Party won a victory in the boycotted elections, with 462 seats in Parliament with ratio of votes to no-voters of 16-10. .

However, by-elections were needed for 40 TRT candidates (mostly from the Democrat-dominated south) who failed to win the 20% of the vote. The Democrat Party refused to contest the by-elections and, along with the People's Alliance for Democracy, petitioned the Central Administrative Court to cancel them. Chamlong Srimuang declared that the PAD would ignore the elections and "go on rallying until Thaksin resigns and Thailand gets a royally-appointed prime minister".

By-elections

Boycotted by-elections in 40 constituencies on 25 April resulted in the TRT winning 25 of the constituencies and loosing in 2 constituencies. Yet another round of by-elections on 29 April was scheduled for 13 constituencies. These by-elections were suspended by the Constitution Court while it deliberated whether or not to disqualify the elections.

Invalidation of the April elections

On 8 May 2006, the Constitution Court ruled 8-6 to invalidate the April elections and ordered a new election to be held. The Court also unsuccessfully pressured the Election Commissioners to resign. The Democrat Party, which had boycotted the April elections, said they are now ready to contest a new election.

After the April 2006 election

Thaksin proposes reconciliatory panel

On 3 April 2006, Thaksin Shinawatra appeared on television to declare victory in the 2006 election, propose a government of national unity, and proposed the creation of an independent reconciliatory commission to decide whether he should remain Prime Minister.. The Democrat Party and the PAD immediately rejected the reconciliation panel. "It's too late for national reconciliation," said Chamlong Srimuang.

Break from politics

After an audience with King Bhumipol, Thaksin announced on April 4, 2006 that he would not accept the post of Prime Minister after the Parliament reconvenes, but would continue as Caretaker Prime Minister until then.

"My main reason for not accepting the post of prime minister is because this year is an auspicious year for the king, whose 60th anniversary on the throne is just 60 days away...I want all Thais to reunite," said Thaksin in a nationally televised speech.

He then delegated his functions to Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Wannasathit, moved out of Government House, and went on vacation.

Thaksin's announcement provoked mixed reactions. Supporters gathered at Government house and wept as they bade Thaksin farewell.

A Bangkok poll taken 3 weeks after Thaksin's announcement found that TRT policies were still overwhelmingly popular in Bangkok, with 54% preferring TRT policies versus 8% for the Democrats.

However, a poll conducted in late May found that only 43% percent of Bangkokians wanted Thaksin back as premier while 57% percent believed Thaksin should not return as prime minister. But in other 20 provinces surveyed in the same poll, 55% percent of respondents favored Thaksin's return as prime minister while 45% percent were opposed.

The Democrat Party at first welcomed the decision and promised to cooperate to resolve the political crisis. However, they continued their boycott of by-elections. In a celebration on 7 April, PAD leaders announced their new goal was the eradication of the "Thaksin regime". and subsequently formed the Mass Party. The Law Society of Thailand filed a suit with the Supreme Administrative Court alleging that Thaksin's leave was illegal. On 22 May, Pairoj Vongvipanon, former dean of the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, warned Thaksin of assasination: "Thaksin must be careful or else he might be killed. Don't think that assassinations can not occur in Thailand."

Accused of "Finland Plan"

Outgoing Senator Sophon Supapong and PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul publicly implicated Thaksin and TRT Party leaders in the "Finland Plan" (Thai: ปฏิญญาฟินแลนด์), funding a plot by an overseas republican movement. Manager Online, ปฏิญญาฟินแลนด์ ยุทธศาสตร์ทักษิณ (Finland Plan - Thaksin's Strategy), 15 May 2006]</ref> Thaworn Senniam(Thai: ถาวร เสนเนียม), Democrat Party deputy secretary-general, agreed that the Finland Plan existed. In response, the Thai Rak Thai party sued Sondhi Limthongkul and several of his associates for libel.

Returning from "leave"

Thaksin returned to work on 19 May 2006, in the wake of the Constitutional Court's nullification of the April elections and catastrophic flooding in the North. Besides flood relief, one of the first decisions of his Cabinet was the approval of three electric rail routes for Bangkok, with bidding to begin in June. One of the routes would connect central Bangkok with the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Critics immediately questioned whether a caretaker government had a mandate to approve such large-scale projects without parliamentary approval.

Miscellaneous

• In January 2006, Thaksin staged Back Stage Show: The Prime Minister, a reality show about his work on solving poverty in Amphoe At Samat, Roi Et Province. Although many people and scholars commented that this show was nothing but a marketing event to boost the PM's image, Thaksin claimed the show was a learning model for other government officers to follow.
• Thaksin is commonly referred to by the press and his critics as "Na Liam" (Thai: หน้าเหลี่ยม - "square face") and "Maeo" (Thai: แม้ว - a derogatory term for the Hmong people).
• In Chinese-language media, Thaksin's name is given as Qiu Daxin (丘达新; pinyin: Qiū Dáxīn); Qiu is the surname of Thaksin's great grandfather and Daxin is a transliteration of Thaksin.

See also

• List of Prime Ministers of Thailand
• Thai Constitution in PDF format

External links

• Biography at the Thai government
• Biography at the Thai embassy in the US
• the website of Thaksinomics
• Thaksin's reality show on 2Bangkok.com
• Thailand descends into political paralysis Extract from Jane's Intelligence Review, March 2006
• High tension in Thailand - Anti-Thaksin rallies