Forget about the Digital Wallet (or whatever they call it now) and cannabis, because political horse-trading should be able to take care of them. If Thailand’s dormant volcano is to erupt, it will be over irreconcilable differences concerning the simple word “ethic” in the charter.
The opposition People’s Party has its own radical ideas in a constitutional amendment draft. The ruling Pheu Thai Party is testing the waters, being blatantly aggressive one day and seeming timid the next. The conservatives are balking at extreme changes.
Pheu Thai is buying time, but sooner or later it will have to make up its mind on how far it wants “ethic” to go. This word in the Constitution, according to critics, has been weaponized politically. Supporters of its existence in the charter, though, firmly believe it can give corruption a good fight.
Both camps have strong cases. The critics say evidence of why “ethic” should be toned down is all over the place, and Pheu Thai should know better than most people.
The proponents argue that without strong emphasis on “ethic” in the Constitution, the Cabinet will be crawling with appointees with questionable or downright criminal backgrounds.
Pheu Thai joining hands with the People’s Party can push through charter amendment proposals that the conservatives do not like.
The questions are whether the two parties can cooperate, whether the People’s Party will risk “being duped again”, and what Pheu Thai will do with this opposition party if or when the ruling party gets stronger thanks to favourable amendment.
The charter amendment draft of the People’s Party can be considered extreme. It seeks to dilute the impact of the word “ethic” or drop the word entirely in crucial political appointments or punishment.
This can trigger an uproar, because conservative alarmists will say that not only “unqualified” nominees will find it easier to be in the government, but penalising those already in will also be harder.
Pheu Thai and the People’s Party share the same pain and apparently have one thing in common. They want to decrease the powers of “independent agencies” like the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Constitutional Court which have played a big role in politics over the years.
But can Pheu Thai have its way? The partnership with the conservatives, no matter how awkward it is, is important, and coming out all guns blazing against “ethic” will ruin it. There is also the issue of Thaksin Shinawatra getting “trapped” in Thailand facing more charges.
Yet without considerable charter changes, Thaksin would not be able to officially “rejoin” the party. Such legitimate reunion could significantly ease fears that the party could be dissolved for letting an “outsider” influence its decisions.
The amendment draft of the People’s Party has one thing that Pheu Thai can use as a loophole. When the People’s Party thinks about reduced punishment or shortening the periods of punishment, its own senior people apparently come to mind, but Pheu Thai certainly sees it as a possible help for Thaksin too.
This explains why Pheu Thai looks torn between the People’s Party and the conservatives. “What’s the most important today is flood relief and economic stimulation,” Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said this week.
That was a far cry from when he was not in the government. Phumtham used to be ideologically precise and hard-hitting while discussing constitutional rules or principles. Wearing a different hat now, he can be forgiven for beating around the bush and trying not to hurt his reluctant allies.
He, however, has promised that the next election would take place under an altered Constitution. Now the government’s flag-bearer when it comes to charter amendment, he has also confirmed that thinkers he has met want an elected drafting assembly.
Late last year, Phumtham said the government was clear-cut on keeping the royal powers out of any amendment. This leaves “ethic”, which everybody is clear about except Pheu Thai.
And by promising “a new charter before the next election”, Pheu Thai has given itself a deadline. Unless floodwaters remain high over the next three years, the party will run out of excuses and will have make a choice in the near future.
It is heading into a major dilemma. The big dead end will loom for the conservatives as well.
This is not to say, though, that a compromise is totally impossible. This is to say that “ethic” will be the alliance’s biggest test. If a compromise happens and the alliance is still intact, it will render so many more things over the past few years pointless.
