Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
Democrat Party’s successes include winning a House majority, sweeping all MP seats in Bangkok, and leading several coalition governments. But the party – established on April 6, 1946 – has also experienced dark days, including a military coup that ousted its government, two election wipe-outs in the capital, and severe infighting that has led to
The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has impounded more assets from the house of Senator Upakit Pachariyangkun, suspecting that they might have been acquired with laundered revenues from drug trafficking. Pol Lt-Gen Phanurat Lukboon, secretary-general of the ONCB, said today that their officials searched the senator’s house in Bangkok’s Dusit district looking for
Jirayu Houngsub, a former Pheu Thai MP, has been appointed a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, said Defence Minister Surin Klungsang on Wednesday. Sutin told reporters that Jirayu join a team of spokespeople at the ministry and will be handling political issues. “Ministry spokespeople who are serving officers may not be familiar with these
Democrat Party veteran Chalermchai Srion is now caretaker of the party’s top two posts – leader and secretary general – after Jurin Laksanawisit stepped down as acting Democrat chief. Both politicians quit their posts shortly after the May 14 general election to take responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the national vote, which saw
About 6.5 million Thais will soon be getting lessons in patriotism and love of the monarchy via four key government ministries. Led by Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, a memo of understanding (MoU) was signed last month by his ministry and the ministries of Education; Higher Education, Science, Research; and Labor to add the country’s so-called
The latest battle between tradition and individualism being waged in Thai schools has introduced a new word to the Thai political lexicon: “astroturfing”. The battle erupted recently over so-called card stunts performed by crowds at the biennial football tournament held by four of Bangkok’s oldest all-boys schools. Card stunts – where crowds raise cards to
About 50% of the respondents to a NIDA Poll disagree with government guidelines for the spending of the 10,000 baht cash benefit, to be distributed under the digital wallet scheme, which state that the money can only be used to buy food, drinks and other necessary consumer products. About 66% of the respondents agree with
It’s obvious that unlike his predecessors, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is an avid social media user. How he has been communicating back to the Thai people from San Francisco where he is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is another proof of that. Srettha has been reporting almost daily his activities on the X
While Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin spends time overseas, to develop relationships with other countries, Pita Limjaroenrat, a key figure in and former leader of the Move Forward party, emphasises that regaining Thailand’s influence on the regional and international stages requires more than just attending summits, pointing out the need for genuine and meaningful mutual benefits.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin says he is confident that the government’s loan bill, needed to fund the digital wallet scheme, will sail through parliament with the support of the coalition parties’ 320 MPs. Speaking from San Francisco in the United States, the prime minister admitted that there are both supporters for and opponents of the
Thwarted Thai election winner Pita Limjaroenrat vowed Thursday to run for prime minister again, defying conservative forces that blocked him from the job earlier in the year and despite a looming court case. The 43-year-old led his Move Forward Party (MFP) to a shock first-place finish in May’s general election, buoyed by young and urban
Move Forward MP for Prachin Buri, Wuttiphong Thonglour, claimed today that he was a victim of internal politics, after he had tried to expose alleged corruption by an assistant to an executive committee member. Speaking to the media, in his second press conference since being expelled from the party after he was found to have
