Time Abhisit left politics, says Nattawut

He was responding to former prime minister Abhisit’s remarks on ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra and the Thai political order. Nattawut said the root cause of the existing problems in Thai society lay in a long-running clash between conservatives and liberals.

On Sunday, Abhisit addressed a seminar titled “Inspiration to becoming Politicians” at Rangsit University.

Nattawut said yesterday that he was surprised Abhisit expressed his readiness to stand in the next poll when the rules were still unclear. He noted that the former PM had boycotted previous elections under the 1997 and 2007 constitutions. 

“He should be able to draw a lesson from his party’s repeated losses and should not repeat the same mistake of always blaming others,” Nattawut said. 

Abhisit had said he would retire from politics should the Democrats lose. In response, Nattawut said yesterday, “It is a right decision to wash his hands of politics should he lose.”

The red-shirt politician said that for him, it did not matter whether Thaksin was involved or not, “but democracy should exist”.

He said there had been two significant developments in the Thai political order. First, the spirit of democracy derived from May 1992 clearly highlighted the need for an elected premier, a stable government, and impartial and independent political watchdog agencies. Second, the coming of Thaksin and a new group of leaders had confronted old establishments. 

He said the conservatives’ influence had been challenged as a result.

Nattawut said that since the coup in 2006, more people had developed political consciousness based on democratic principles. The conservative establishment would try by any means to put pressure on its rivals – and this had led to the emergence of a double-standards political discourse, according to Nattawut. 

“I do not say Thaksin was a political wizard, because he still has a lot to do to defend himself from all accusations. Thaksin and his group entered politics by following the proper path. And they are more accepted by society than coup-makers or politicians who gained political power through undemocratic means,” Nattawut said.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party acting deputy spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard said yesterday that the so-called “Thaksin regime” was make-believe. He was responding to Abhisit’s placing of blame on the Thaksin regime for the country’s political problems.

Anusorn said Abhisit seemed to have “lost his mind” after repeated election losses. 

He added that Abhisit should help contribute to the efforts to resolve the political conflict rather than being obsessed with attacking Thaksin.