Simple message heads off dubious rivalry
 The Nation
December 7, 2005 - Some say it was straightforward. Others are still looking for deeper messages between the lines. The traditional charm of His Majesty the King’s annual birthday speech - its tendency to draw various interpretations despite its usual simplicity - seems to have been amplified this year thanks to the showdown between Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul.
Thaksin must have been the most anxious man among the audience at the Chitralada Palace on Sunday. But if pundits were eager to see how the PM reacted to His Majesty the King’s subtle but powerful birthday speech, they must have shifted their attention by now to the Thai Rak Thai leader’s No 1 political rival. What will Sondhi do next? Whatever he decides to do, he has very little time to think about it.
The much-anticipated speech is generating intriguing effects. While it cooled down political tension that had been rising dangerously over the past few weeks, it put a lot of heat on the man in the front row at the Sala Dusitalai. Yet Thaksin, who was taught a strong lesson on leadership in the speech, reacted smartly, and in a single stroke has put the ball in the media tycoon’s court.
Now that Thaksin is withdrawing all lawsuits against Sondhi, how should the latter respond? Many observers believe Sondhi may have been quietly hoping for this kind of opportunity, one that would allow him to bail out harmlessly from his own bandwagon, which was getting precariously out of control.
The unification theme in His Majesty’s speech and Thaksin’s conspicuous olive branch may provide Sondhi with a graceful exit. But if the tycoon really wants to “get off the tiger’s back”, he will still need a really great script to address his “Thailand Weekly” forum at the Lumpini Park this Friday.
Sondhi had issued a rallying cry, calling on 500,000 Thais to show up at Lumpini to protest ruling politicians he deemed very corrupt and lacking the legitimacy to rule. It’s a big question now how many will turn up. But the more important question is: What will Sondhi tell them?
Apart from the issues of government corruption and abuse of power, Sondhi’s campaign has been based largely on how he thought the monarch’s “powers” have been infringed upon. But his proclaimed efforts to “return” the powers to the King have been made to look somewhat redundant by His Majesty’s unwavering clout. The King, who will mark his 60th year on the throne next year, has shown his nation that real royal powers are not ones to be simply “given” or “returned”.
So, through his birthday speech, the revered monarch has brought both warring parties - who, in invoking the issues of royal powers and lese majeste in their personal showdown, may have crossed the line - back to where they belong. Thaksin has been unequivocally told, again, that nobody is above criticism, and that lese majeste law shall be enforced only with great prudence. Sondhi, spared from the royal message, will nonetheless have to revise his belligerently royalist strategy in the confrontation with the prime minister.
But if Sondhi is the least enviable man now, Thaksin still does not have much breathing space. His reaction to the King’s speech may blunt Sondhi’s scheme, which was gathering momentum, but the prime minister’s real political problem lies far beyond his conflicts with the media tycoon. With or without Sondhi, Thaksin cannot hide what his government has done and cannot escape consequences. Several potentially explosive issues are still rolling relentlessly towards unpredictable conclusions - like the auditor-general affair and the planned listing of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.
The King’s speech in effect gives Thais a clearer picture of what political problems the country is facing. It dispels the fog which for months clouded the battlefield where Thaksin has been fighting his growing army of critics.
Thais have been invariably told royal powers are not an issue to be concerned about as far as an embattled country is concerned. His message is simple: the King can do wrong.
The King is accepting of constructive criticism, for one who is not is not a good human. And the country should by all means concentrate on the pressing matters at hand.
Simply, subtly, the monarch has risen above the fray of this dubious rivalry. And Thais have been made to realise that real royal powers are not ones that can be traded or given, but something much more sacred and mystic.
Tulsathit Taptim |
