Prayut is not the only one with a credibility problem

If PM Prayut has a credibility problem, he is scarcely alone. Less than four years ago, I do not recall this newspaper lambasting Suthep Thaugsuban as a “conman”, or ignoring the deadly street bombings, nor seeking to defend the Yingluck government as it blatantly attempted to subvert parliament to end Thaksin’s exile. But, yes, we all have the right to change our minds.
It is difficult to find ruling politicians these days without credibility issues. American is governed by a wannabe dictator and total ignoramus, whilst Cambodia has now moved swiftly to one-party rule under Hun Sen without a hitch. The Philippines has a gun-toting president who justifies extra-judicial killings and reburies the fraudulent Ferdinand Marcos in a heroes’ cemetery. The European Union has member states in eastern Europe run by racists and xenophobes who ignore Brussels whenever it suits them. And so on.
Sadly no doubt, we have entered a world in which authoritarianism and militarism are fast becoming the norm, albeit hiding behind a fig leaf claiming to be the popular will. In Southeast Asia, the ever-growing political and financial clout of ambitious China will ensure that trend continues whatever the result of the next Thai general election. 
Barry Kenyon
Pattaya