As the problems in Thailand increase, the king moves to strengthen his image

Photographer: Vichan Poti / Pacific Press / LightRocket / Getty Images

After political and economic instability saw unprecedented demands for reform from the Thai monarchy, King Maha Vajiralongkorn is trying to polish his image in what looks like another year of tension in the country.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha is overseeing an economy with tourism decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, factories that eliminate workers and exporters have hit. Farmers have struggled in the worst drought in four decades. Gross domestic product contracted about 6.6% last year.

Although some recovery is forecast for 2021, it will be set relatively anemic for an economy that has been slow for years. A new wave of coronavirus infections has seen an expansion of state of emergency by the end of February. Meanwhile, Thailand’s largest opposition party intends to pursue a vote of no confidence in the government for its alleged “mismanagement” of the country, including the Covid-19 response.

It is approaching all the months of rallies in which protesters openly criticized the monarchy, the strongest institution in Thailand. At this time, the streets are relatively quiet – with small protests over the weekend – but student leaders have vowed to return to their homes. demands are addressed: less royal power, a more democratic constitution and the resignation of Prayuth, a former army chief who staged a coup in 2014.

Vajiralongkorn has increased its presence in Thailand since the unrest broke out. He returned from Germany in October, where he had spent much of his reign. Since then, the king and his entourage have attended religious ceremonies, handed out diplomas to graduates, greeted kneeling supporters dressed in yellow shirts and even he swept the floor on one of his charity projects.

While Vajiralongkorn automatically inherited vast power and wealth when he ascended the throne in 2016, many Thais also subscribe to a concept of informal authority – what Buddhists call “barami” or virtue – that must be gained rather than tied. . During his 70-year reign, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej accumulated and demonstrated his own barracks.

“King Bhumibol’s moral authority and informal power were not transferable,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Chulalongkorn University of Bangkok. “There is not the same kind of ability to convene different parties to end the conflict. In fact, the opposite is happening – the monarchy has become a party to the conflict. This is very alarming. ”

During an appearance in early November, Vajiralongkorn called Thailand “the land of compromise” in a rare public comment to foreign reporters. The Royal House Office did not respond to a request for comment, and subsequent calls to the Bureau went unanswered.

Unlike the tumult of the past – Thailand suffered about a dozen coups in the last century – protesters do not seek power for themselves: they want the army and monarchy to become more accountable to the country’s 70 million citizens.

Why protesters took to the streets in Thailand: QuickTake

The stakes, both politically and economically, are high: even before the unrest, the wealth gap in Thailand widened, while poverty was increasing. A 2019 study conducted by The Bank of Thailand research institute found that about 36% of the share capital is concentrated in the hands of only 500 people.

So far, the government has avoided bloody repression such as in past demonstrations, despite facing at least a dozen protest leaders. accusations of insulting the monarch, who have prison sentences of up to 15 years. A Thai court on Tuesday sentenced a former civil servant who was arrested in 2015 to 43 and a half years in prison for distributing videos on social media of an online talk show that allegedly defamed the monarchy, which human rights group Amnesty International called the harshest conviction so far under the statute.

On Wednesday, the Thai government filed a defamation charge against former Prime Minister Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, one of its top critics, after questioning the involvement of a monarchy-linked company in the nation’s vaccine production. .

The Prayuth administration is enforcing existing laws and has not focused on using a special statute to target protesters, government spokeswoman Anucha Burapachaisri said when asked earlier about the use of the law.

Sulak Sivaraksa, a Buddhist activist who has studied the monarchy for decades, said Vajiralongkorn already has moral authority among royalists and is now trying to burn his image with the rest of society. He noted the king was “very shy” compared to his father, even though he was similarly charitable.

“A lot of people criticize the king for spending too much time abroad and too little time in the kingdom – I think he realizes it now,” said the 87-year-old Sulak. “People were afraid of him, but now he walks and talks to people, allowing people to photograph him and his royal family and have a good conversation with them. I think that brought him a very good reputation. ”

Traditionally, the level of esteem of a Thai monarch has depended on respect ten virtues of reign, including generosity, self-sacrifice, honesty, and integrity.

During his lifetime, King Bhumibol made sure to appear in step with ordinary Thais, even though he oversaw a fortune worth about $ 40 billion. He often met with tribal members and hill farmers, sponsoring programs aimed at reducing opium production and bringing irrigation development to remote regions.

Bhumibol preached a lifestyle of moderation appropriate to his semi-divine status and spiritual role in Buddhism, the religion of over 90% of all Thais. In the last four decades of his life, Bhumibol traveled outside Thailand only once to preside over the opening of a bridge over neighboring Laos.

At the height of his power in 1992, Bhumibol intervened – despite limited legal authority – to end the deadly clashes between the military and protesters, Paul Handley wrote in his 2006 book, “The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Bhumibol Adulyadej from Thailand. ”

“King Bhumibol has gained the authority to summon the most powerful people in the country and, in a few deliberate words, has expelled them from politics,” Handley wrote.

Married four times, his son’s personal life has been the subject of years gossip. In July 2019, he appointed an official royal consort for the first time in almost half a century, three months after announcing his fourth wife Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana. Shortly afterwards, his wife stripped his consort of her titles to restore them again last year.

Thai protests target billions in the king’s property investments