Idle political parties can make good use of their 'free time'

Now that it’s clear the constitutional reform process will take considerably longer than expected, Thailand’s political parties, disgruntled in their enforced dormancy, have two choices. They can either bide their time amid murmurs of undermining the Prayut regime, or they can undergo reform of their own so that, when the time for action finally arrives, they won’t repeat the same mistakes.

With rumours circulating that the new Constitution will downgrade the status and role of political parties – and that some might even be nullified – the first option must be tempting, but it would automatically doom Thailand to continue its vicious cycle. 

Once an election is held and a fresh civilian government is installed, the only thing preventing a return to military rule will be a complete revamp of politicians’ attitudes and behaviour. If they continue offering more of the same action, they invite more of the same reaction. If they don’t rehabilitate, they can expect their uniformed “overseers” to step in again and tinker longer with Thailand’s strange clockwork version of democracy.

Surely the parties have done ample soul-searching since the coup, but they must take that another step further. Blaming the military is all too convenient, yet it changes nothing. The politicians must instead look deep into the mirror and find out what role they played in the turmoil that led to the coup. Then they must determine what they need to do to bring the turmoil to a halt once and for all.

Two glaring problems with Thai democracy are corruption and the unwavering habit of putting the wrong men in key jobs. Ridding the system of graft requires a thorough cleansing of ethics, wholeheartedly supported by the party leaders. If the parties are honest, swift in punishing wrongdoers and transparent about irregularities that arise, the country will be halfway to the goal of ending its prolonged political strife.

The practice of placing unqualified men in important Cabinet posts has several root causes. Either the prime minister is seeking to protect or broaden his power base, or a coalition partner needs to be mollified, or internal factional bickering forces the matter, catapulting low-minded people into lofty offices. 

Corruption and poor Cabinet appointments often feed off each other, leaving our parliamentary democracy marred by graft, hampered by inefficiency and ultimately unable to purge either poison. 

The political parties, if they are to return to the playing field and make the game sustainable, must figure out a way to change this unhealthy status quo. Failure to do so would only ensure that the same rusty anchor stymies progress, regenerating the same old vicious cycle of flawed government followed by uprising followed by coup.

Expecting our elected politicians to be able to block military intervention for good is perhaps optimism stretched too far, given the supremacy of the armed forces in the Thai hierarchy of power. But they can certainly make it much harder for the generals and the admirals to find an excuse for a coup. 

So this is what the political parties should be doing with their “free time” on the sidelines. 

They should be conducting an ethical overhaul and making constructive connections to form a qualified and capable “shadow cabinet”. That alone would indeed be a meaningful contribution to the system. 

Opposition to the draft constitution has been largely a matter of self-interest. The critics ask what the constitution can do for them, while failing to utter the far more important question of what they can do to make democracy sustainable, healthy and, at last, dignified.