Opposition politicians such as Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit are considered state enemies
speech worthy of Dr Strangelove. In a 90-minute lecture-turned-rant at the army headquarters on October 11th, Apirat Kongsompong, the head of Thailand’s armed forces, accused academics and other leftists of implanting “communist chips” in the minds of brainwashed youths.
Mr Thanathorn, a wealthy, telegenic 40-year-old, is fast replacing Thaksin Shinawatra as state enemy number one. Mr Thanathorn’s message resonates, especially among the young: trim the army’s power, rewrite the constitution and foster an open politics that serves all Thais, not just the elites around the royal court. He has already been barred, on a technicality, from taking up his seat in parliament. Worse awaits. His party is likely to be disbanded.
Perhaps General Apirat hopes that his stern lectures will make future coups unnecessary, by helping to keep all Thais in their place in King Vajiralongkorn’s cosmic hierarchy. Yet even among the elites, not everyone is happy. Mid-level army officers are grumbling that the king’s demands—he has sent top units he distrusts out of the capital—are messing with their careers. Ordinary Thais, meanwhile, gripe about the traffic jams caused when the streets are cleared to make way for royal motorcades.
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