[thai monarch] eat your heart out, britain

King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX

King Bhumibol said simply, in his state of the union speech, that he was "bored" with political topics and went on to give his stamp of approval to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, referring to the former army commander and former member of the Privy Council as a "man of principle" and "strong personality. Between the lines, King Bhumibol's assessment that Surayud's government of mostly retired royalist bureaucrats is "superior" to a government run by "unqualified young people" was quite possibly a critical comparison to Thaksin's self-proclaimed "new generation" administration.

The anti-government street protests that contributed to Thaksin's downfall were first and foremost motivated by accusations that he had co-opted rituals and responsibilities that in Thai society were traditionally reserved for royalty. As political tensions mounted, Thaksin appeared to challenge the authority of the Privy Council when he accused an unnamed "charismatic figure" - widely perceived to be royal aide Prem Tinsulanonda - who was allegedly scheming to overthrow his government through extra-constitutional means.

The birth of Vajiralongkorn's son, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, in April 2005 has significantly assured an unbroken family line of succession to the throne. On top of that, the democratic experiment, regrettably implemented under the politically ambitious Thaksin, is nine years later now back at Square 1. When the King gently remonstrated an unnamed Thaksin, that was the beginning of the end. You don’t cross the Thai King and get away with it.

I’ve posted before that I was in Thailand in a minibus, in after work peak hour traffic, where two major arteries meet and the whole caboodle was stalled for just under an hour because the King was due to drive home for the evening. We laughed about it to the minibus driver, a young chap who could probably have been relied upon to share the joke. Not a bit of it. The King has the undying reference of each and almost every Thailander, excepting the Thaksins of the country of course and the young man first glared, then explained. The King finally having passed by, everyone respectfully resumed the road mayhem as before.

This post is dedicated to Chris Dillow.