Pita blames concentration of power and wealth for decline of democracy

He said “democratic backsliding” is happening in Thailand as well as other countries, even those with “the most advanced institutionalised democracies”.

Pita was giving a lecture in English on “Moving Forward: Thailand, Asean & Beyond” given at Harvard University in the US on Thursday.

“Democracy is under siege,” he told a packed auditorium at his alma mater.

He pointed to survey results by Freedom House, which found that 48% of the world lived in a free society in 2006, compared to 20% this year.

“That's democratic backsliding. Something is going on around the world and even the most advanced institutionalised democracies are seeing those numbers declining as well,” he said.

According to Pita, the problem is not only about concentration of political power, but also concentration of wealth.

“This perfect storm is happening not just in Thailand, but anywhere in the world, no matter where you come from,” he told the audience.

“How do we create a society or political structure that allows both redistribution of power and redistribution of wealth at the same time?” the 43-year-old politician asked.

His lecture lasted about 20 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer question with the audience.

Pita suggested that countries should not focus only on profitability, but their interest should also be extended to the environment, land rights, land ownership redistribution, and building a social welfare state that takes care of labour empowerment.

“That's almost like social democracy to us. It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree. But it's about really coming together to really think about how we create this architecture of how we proceed forward,” he said.

Pita, who is now the chief adviser to the new Move Forward leader, added that whenever he and his party can change Thailand through demilitarisation and decentralisation, they would start thinking about foreign policy and look outward to the world.

His message to the world would be “Thailand is back. Thailand means business.”

He pointed out that the kingdom is a middle power that is the second largest country in Asean, a region that has a combined population of 670 million people and a total GDP of US$6 trillion. “You cannot ignore us,” he said.

Pita also said that amidst many ongoing conflicts around the world, Thailand “really needs to look outward to make sure that you know we are part of the international community”.

He suggested that Thailand should join other Asean founding members in “telling the world that right makes might and might doesn't make right”.

He suggested a review of Thailand’s foreign policy after 10 years under what he called “military rule”.

“We want to be able to rebalance once again. It’s not about taking sides, it's about sticking to principles. We want to be able to criticise our friends and talk to our foes,” he said.

Under General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government, Thailand adopted neutrality in its foreign policy in international conflicts backed by world’s powers.

In a related development, Pita was criticised for mainly selecting successful Thai expatriates to meet him during his visit to New York earlier this week.

An unnamed social media user accused him of “acting like a celeb” for allegedly demanding candidates to submit their CVs just days before the scheduled meeting at a Thai community in the US city.

The woman, who claimed to be a Move Forward voter and reportedly went through the selection process, said Pita failed to respect people in the Thai community, the Facebook page Street Hero V3 reported on Friday.

Pita was in New York to attend a gala hosted by “Time” news magazine in honour of people featured in this year’s “Time 100 Next”. The Thai politician is one of the rising leaders recognised by the US-based media outlet.

He told Thai expats that after meeting many compatriots in the US working in such areas as fashion, food, and arts, he realised that they had the potential to earn the same honour like him.

Move Forward’s only prime ministerial candidate at the May 14 general election, Pita failed to secure majority support in Parliament to become prime minister.

He stepped down from the party’s helm to pave the way for its secretary-general, Chaithawat Tulathon, to become the party leader and thus the opposition leader, as Pita has been suspended from MP duty due to a legal case involving his ownership of shares in a media company.