Over eight years since Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power in a coup d’etat, the courts today achieved what protesters and opposition party members could only dream of.
Prayuth, who installed himself as prime minister eight years ago today, was suspended from the nation’s top political job by the Constitutional Court while it decides whether he has run out of time under the law.
The constitution, written and passed under military supervision, set an eight-year term limit for the prime minister. For Prayuth, that ran out today. The court, which is vested with the power to snuff out political careers, essentially reversed a Supreme Court ruling last week that Prayuth’s term did not officially begin until the new constitution was promulgated in 2017.
His right hand man since the junta days, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan has said that the ruling party he heads, Phalang Pracharath, would appoint a caretaker prime minister were Prayuth suspended. His legal shaman Wissanu Krea-ngam set up a scenario in which Deputy Prime Minister Prayuth may be appointed to replace PM Prayuth.
The Constitutional Court said it will take about a month to issue a ruling.
While the terms of Thailand’s elected, civilian leaders are usually measured in a handful of years – even months – Thailand’s military dictators tend to hold onto power for an unusually long time.
Since he overthrew the remnants of Yingluck Shinawatra’s government in 2014, Prayuth has loomed large over Thailand, shaping key domestic policies, managing the transition to a new monarch, and trying to lock a set of development policies into stone for future generations.
But by some measures, Prayuth had already outstayed his welcome due to factors within and outside his control.
He rode a wave of anger stoked among the status quo, urban middle class and other constituencies into power. After overthrowing the people’s elected representatives amid sometimes violent street protests, he established the National Council for Peace and Order and vowed to restore civilian rule within a year.
He even penned a song urging patience while he “returned happiness to the people” by granting himself absolute power and using it to end “corruption.” While he initially enjoyed wide support, the only serious attempts at uprooting corruption seemed to be aimed at his political enemies and rarely at the rot within the status quo.
Prayuth loved and hated the spotlight. He went to great lengths to win attention with eccentric behavior and frequent scripted stunts — landing Muay Thai and football kicks — and unscripted, such as the time he leapt atop a motorcycle and sped around the Government House.
While it’s certainly too early to write his political obituary in full, here are just a few of the wackiest Prayuth moments.
Make like a banana
Maybe he didn’t like the flashing cameras, maybe he didn’t like the questions. But either way, the little mischievous spirit that occasionally animated Prayuth in 2014 went sailing toward a Thairath camera man’s head in the form of a ballistic banana peel.
Workout Wednesdays
Do you dream of achieving as much as the man who overthrew a government, granted himself absolute power, and then used it to forever indemnify himself and his buds from accountability? Then you definitely carved out a couple hours every week when General Fitness ordered all government officials to lay down the people’s business and join him in “Workout Wednesdays.”
He led aerobics classes, fought Muay Thai, swung swords and even took to the football pitch to kick some balls around – at least until he fell on his own.
Incel Hero
The height – or depth – of Prayuth’s progressive attitudes about women came soon after one of the most horrific crimes of the past decade – the 2014 murder of a pair of British backpackers on Koh Tao in which a woman was sexually assaulted before being killed. Opening up to reporters and speaking off the cuff, Prayuth suggested that women could only truly be safe wearing a bikini if they were ugly.
Master of Ballads
Prayuth, a known fan of popped-collar ‘70s macho men, also dabbled in a bit of songwriting. He famously first hit the charts promising to Return Happiness to the People. But he didn’t stop there. Over the years, he took credit for song after song, from heart-stirring nationalist ballads to oddly self-referential Valentine’s Day crooners. Just this year, he burned the mic with fiery verses such as “Fear makes you lose judgment. Remember. Don’t give up. Don’t transfer!” for a song fighting phishing calls and online scammers.
The cherry on top? Rather release the song via TikTok, in a bold boomer move, he ordered the government to release it in CD format – with cover art of none other than a pointing Prayuth.
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