Prime Minster Thaksin Shinawatra was once again on the brink of being the first premier to face impeachment for an asset-concealment charge.
Once again he missed a date with destiny.
The Constitution Court yesterday rejected a petition submitted by 27 senators seeking to impeach Thaksin on grounds that they lacked sufficient evidence to back up their charges.
The 27 senators alleged Thaksin had an illegal conflict of interest because he still had influence over Shin Corp while making national policy.
They said the premier had violated Article 209 of the Constitution and was no longer qualified to hold public office.
On the one hand, an anxious Thaksin might feel relieved by the court’s ruling for his family’s sake.
Had it decided to review the petition, inevitably it would have had to ask Thaksin and his children to testify.
Known as a devoted father, Thaksin would never let anyone touch his children.
When his children, who are the owners of Ample Rich Investments, were asked by the Securities and Exchange Commission to show documents to support their relationship with the company, Thaksin assigned Shinawatra family spokesman Suvarn Valaisathien to make the explanation instead.
For Thaksin, the court’s ruling relieves him of a considerable burden, allowing him to concentrate on his administration.
When he was charged with asset concealment in 2001, Thaksin’s heart beat fast while waiting for the court’s verdict. Obviously, his political future was uncertain. Moreover, businessmen and investors had lost confidence in Thailand.
But this time they seem to be relieved as Thai shares increased significantly after the ruling was announced.
On the other hand, the ruling seems not to be so good for Thaksin.
Unfortunately, he has lost a chance to distance himself from Shin Corp. If the court had opened a hearing, he would have had an opportunity to explain that he had not been involved in Shin Corp since taking office.
But with that chance gone, the public can only continue to doubt him.
Had the review gone ahead, Thaksin could have bought more time as he struggles to preserve his grip on power, as there was no deadline for the court to consider the case.
Thaksin could have asked the public to wait for a conclusion. That would have given him time to work on defanging the anti-Thaksin groups.
For the rest of us, the most important thing is the Constitution Court has just blown any hope of scrutinising the prime minister.
Three attempts are or were being made to put Thaksin under the microscope, but they’re uphill battles.
The first was aborted yesterday when the 27 senators failed in their attempt to impeach Thaksin.
The second seems likely to meet the same fate. The Opposition, which has 124 House seats, will find it near impossible to gather 200 signatures of MPs to file a censure motion against Thaksin.
There’s a glimmer of hope in the third, the collection of 50,000 signatures to launch impeachment proceedings against Thaksin (as of yesterday 20,000 signatures had been gathered).
But the hard part is the impeachment process. When the Thammasat University Student Union gathers enough signatures, they have to send them to the Senate Speaker and then to the National Counter Corruption Commission. And that’s tricky, because there is no NCCC currently in operation.
So that leaves the public with little room to manoeuvre.
Thaksin and his allies keep asking his opponents to play by the rules, but when they do, the door is shut in their faces.
What do people who are in despair do when the independent bodies on which they are expected to rely on let them down? How can they exercise their right to a checks and balances system?
Is the final way to take to the streets yet again?
Given yesterday’s ruling it will be no surprise if the next anti-Thaksin rally on February 26, at Sanam Luang, is bigger than expected.
Maybe when Thaksin sees the number of protesters swell, he might regret that he did not have the chance to take his case to the court.
Your comments are welcome. Contact the Political Desk at poldesk@nationgroup.com.
Jintana Panyaarvudh
The Nation