Democrats, Pheu Thai must aid reform

Thailand’s political reform will have at least three crucial phases. The first is a peaceful return to the ballot boxes and the second involves how to make a divided populace accept the results. If things go well, implementing measures to make the new government accountable and transparent will be next. As we can see, the first is the easiest step and the second and third phases are closely related. And while the onus is on the military rulers to deliver new fair ground rules for politics, the country’s two biggest countries will need to help, if not make big sacrifices.

To achieve peace and reconciliation, contentious figures will have to seriously consider bowing out. This means the leaderships of the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties will have to think long and hard over how their presence in – or absence from – the election will affect the outcome, its aftermath and the future of the country as a whole. Simply put, the likes of Yingluck Shinawatra and Abhisit Vejjajiva must weigh the pros and cons of fighting on or graciously leaving the scene. This is something those involved have avoided talking about out loud, but it will come to the fore sooner rather than later.

The battle between the two parties has never been a healthy democratic showdown. The Democrats were accused of using undemocratic means, including seeking military support, in a bid to overthrow an elected government. Pheu Thai, on the other hand, was charged with using nominees and devising highly controversial populist schemes that spawned corruption in a bid to hold on to power or, worse still, whitewash its de facto leader. It’s too late to conclude the debate over who started it, but the undeniable crux of the current impasse is that the present leaderships of both parties are abhorred by supporters of the other side.

This means the present leaderships’ continued presence in the next election and its aftermath would not guarantee peace and reconciliation. That is to say the least. In fact, fragile political peace will be in danger if either Abhisit or Yingluck became a post-election prime minister. We know what happened in 2010 and we know what happened in late 2013. 

To make the outcome of the next election acceptable to both sides, the contest and its aftermath must not reopen old wounds. Perhaps, it’s time for the second-tier leaders of both parties, ones who have had little to do with the cut-throat politics over the past few years, to step in. Both parties have prominent figures whose names won’t provoke anger or inflame doubts or mistrust. It will be refreshing if they carry their parties’ flags in a democratic battle.

Of course, such a change in the Thai political landscape is easier said than done. 

It requires mutual retreats, something that has never happened over the past few years. Each side insists it is right and the other is wrong. Neither side has expressed willingness to make sacrifices so that Thailand can have a long-lasting political peace. Both sides have justified their aggression with that overly used word, “justice”.

This year, all eyes will be on how the military-guided “reform” looks like. But 2015 should also give the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties time for soul-searching. They know better than anybody else what their rivalry has done to democracy. They know who to blame even if the May 22 coup was a simple case of military opportunism. Most of all, they know better than anyone what Thailand stands to get if the rivalry remains unchanged.