Nine years after he vowed to put smiles on everyone’s faces by seizing control of the country and granting himself absolute power, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha hobbled out of the political arena today. He was 69.
The cause of his retirement was the complete rejection by the public he once ruled by fiat.
After suffering a humiliating defeat in May’s election, Prayuth announced just after 4pm that he had resigned from his military proxy, the United Thai Nation Party, effectively ending his political career.
“From this point forward, I would like to announce my withdrawal from the United Thai Nation Party and request the party leader, executive committee, and members to continue their political activities with strong determination to protect and preserve our nation, religion, monarchy, and to take care of the Thai people,” he wrote in a signed statement that kept his loquacious tendencies true to the end.
By social media metrics, there were about 4,500 thumbs-up or heart emojis as of publication time and no sad or shocked faces.
Still, most immediate reactions were appreciative.
“The history books will record that he was the best prime minister,” Na Sara wrote. “He strengthened the nation in all aspects.”
After vowing for weeks that he would not do a coup after months of street unrest fomented by supporters of the status quo to unseat the government of Yingluck Shinawtra, Prayuth did exactly that.
He called in representatives from both sides of the political divide for a meeting, where he informed them that he had taken administrative control of the country. In short order, he issued an order granting himself absolute power to issue any orders with the force of law, one of which indemnified himself and other coup makers from future prosecution.
Then the songs began. First was his toe-tapping Returning Happiness to the Thai People, in which he vowed to be around just long enough to make everyone friends again. That was followed by a number of other bangers.
Among the policies Prayuth’s junta championed were a large economic corridor in the east, a much-mocked “Thailand 4.0” technology program, and the displacement of longtime informal communities in the name of stopping encroachment. They also went after unspecified “influential people.”
Along the way, Prayuth set out to uproot the legacy of his erstwhile nemesis, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra by upending a number of his signature programs.
His administration pursued a range of “cleanliness and order” initiatives, such as clearing the streets of vendors and a misguided goal of concreting the banks of the Chao Phraya River to create a tourist-friendly “promenade.” In fact, contorting Thailand in ways to better resemble shiny Singapore was a through line, and one that was not unpopular with Thai citizens.
But the very corruption that he cited as the raison d’etre for seizing power plagued his own administration. His military man brother was accused of nepotism for procuring lucrative military construction projects, a park celebrating Thailand’s kings became a boondoggle, and Prayuth’s No. 2, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, sank into scandal over the obscene number of absurdly expensive wristwatches he owned.
Over time, Prayuth’s military regime came to embrace the very Thaksinist populism it once railed against. This past May’s election became a contest for who could give away the most stuff.
In 2016, Prayuth’s junta, styled as the National Council for Peace and Order, unveiled its draft constitution that went to a public vote later that year. The junta outlawed debate or any “campaigning” on its merits, though it only seemed to apply to its opponents.
The charter was approved by 61.4% of the voters and, with a few alterations by the king, remains in force today. The referendum included a bonus question that led to the establishment of an all military-appointed Senate, which tilted the balance of power into the generals’ hands.
Under that provision, the man who trounced Prayuth in May, Move Forward Party’s Pita Limjaroenrat, has slim chances of amassing enough support Thursday to claim the premiership despite winning a plurality of votes and seats in the lower house.
That provision is due to expire next year, however.
Prayuth’s tenure as absolute dictator ran from 2014 until 2019, when he was officially made prime minister in a flawed election criticized widely as neither free nor fair. The predecessor of Pita’s Move Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, was quickly forced out of office by court order.
Perhaps Prayuth put his feelings best in his 2018 Valentine’s Day gift to the people, Diamond Heart, as transcribed by our friends at Khaosod English:
Diamond Heart
Lyrics by Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha
Tune and Arrangement by Wichian Tantipimolapan
Vocal Arrangement by Maj. Thanyawapisit Jirakittipasukul
Sung by Sgt. Maj. 1st Class Pongsathorn Porjit
Creative direction by Maj. Gen. Kissada Sarika
(Verse 1) How many years have we gone through together?
There are always new problems,
You are the inspiration that makes me fight for you,
Did you know your smile is my happiness?
(Bridge) No matter how tired or difficult, let’s hold hands and go forward together,
Stable, ready, unrelenting faith.
(Chorus) Make your heart a real diamond, unrelenting,
Side by side today together, obstacles mean nothing,
The lessons we learn are new everyday,
We have to build our hearts’ dream together so it’s resilient.
(Verse 2) The more the sky roars, the more our hearts move forward,
Good hearts never relent,
The strong who fall into waters or fires aren’t troubled,
We’ll avoid them as long as we have goodness.
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