Final blame will always rest with Prayuth

The Cabinet line-up contains few surprises. Admittedly, the NCPO had limited choices. The fact that this government is running the country following a power seizure discouraged many well-qualified candidates from taking jobs in the Cabinet. 

 

Another reason is that the interim government has only a limited time in office, according to the NCPO’s roadmap, which clearly outlines what will be done, and not be done, during the administration’s tenure. So, the NCPO opts to pick only people it can fully trust and those who clearly understand their mission, in order to increase the chance of success.

 

It is, therefore, not surprising to see many people close to the NCPO or who have joined them from the beginning, being appointed to the new Cabinet. Certainly, those people are favoured, as trust comes first for the NCPO.

 

It is also not unusual for many retired and active bureaucrats to have joined the Cabinet. Since the day it imposed martial law, the NCPO appears to have been convinced that the bureaucrats are able to run the country without the help of politicians. In the first stage of the NCPO’s roadmap, ministry permanent secretaries acted as government ministers. The junta was not in a hurry to set up a government, unlike the previous coup leaders. The interim government was formed just last week, more than three months after the coup of May 22.

 

Many observers are posing whether this government of civilians, military and police officers will be efficient. They still remember the disappointing government of General Surayud Chulanont, which was formed after the coup of September 2006.

 

High hopes were placed on the Surayud government. But many ministers in the administration, mostly technocrats, worked as if they were permanent officials, which was disappointing for several critics. 

 

The current government should learn from past mistakes and not repeat them. 

 

Although it is an interim government in a transitional period, it does not mean it should work passively. It should not attempt to freeze everything. In today’s world, stopping is like moving backwards. Other countries are moving forward constantly.

 

Frankly speaking, it is rather difficult to place much hope on this Cabinet. It is like expecting the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to serve as a checks-and-balance mechanism against the interim government.

 

On many past occasions, we’ve found people who’ve worked with the NCPO tending to be “yes men”. Even NLA members often come up with unanimous votes. We are likely to see the same thing in the 32-strong Cabinet.

 

So, the main role should be taken by General Prayuth, who is serving as the prime minister as well as the NCPO chief. His duty and responsibility is to run the country in a way he sees fit. But if any mistake happens, he alone will shoulder the resultant pressure and blame.

 

Another concern involves unity among people who work for the NCPO and among the NCPO members themselves. 

 

There are people who tend to push themselves forward and want to outdo others. They don’t like it when others play roles more dominant than theirs. 

 

It will be interesting to see how Prayuth deals with these people and runs his government to achieve the challenging goals of national reform and reconciliation. We will see how well he performs in this regard.