THAILAND Bangkok. Pheu Thai could also be dissolved

An opposition leader has filed a petition to the Election Commission, citing the control over the ruling party exercised by Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister and father of the current prime minister, Paetongtarn, who has been in office for less than a month. The progressive Move Forward party was dissolved in early August. And there is still no answer to the slowdown in the economy.

Bangkok () – The already uphill climb of the new Thai government led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has become even steeper with the request made by an opposition leader, Warong Dechgitvigrom, to the Election Commission to dissolve the Pheu Thai party, due to the alleged control exercised by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s father, who does not hold any political or official position in any party.

Other calls for dissolution have been made in recent weeks for the same reason, and last month the Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of the progressive party Move Forward, which had won the general election but was never allowed to govern due to its anti-monarchy positions.

The proposal by Dechgitvigrom, chairman of the Thai Padkdee, is based on the Organic Law on Political Parties, which prohibits any interference from outside parties. The accusation was launched after a meeting on August 14 (two days before his daughter was appointed prime minister) between Thaksin Shinawatra – rejected by the monarchist and nationalist groups, as well as by the armed forces, which ended his government in September 2006 – and leading figures of the majority coalition, where the issue of forming a new government following the dismissal of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was discussed, which in this case too was verified with the intervention of the Electoral Commission.

Thaksin’s subsequent public statements appear to confirm the impression of control over the party and over his daughter, 38, Thailand’s youngest ever prime minister, who critics say has not gained enough political experience despite her father’s years of voluntary exile, which ended just over a year ago.

The establishment was also angered by the inclusion of the Democratic Party in the coalition government led by Pheu Thai (a staunch opponent of the Shinawatra family) instead of the pro-military Palang Pracharath party, which had ruled for a year together with Pheu Thai.

A thorny issue for the prime minister, who is already facing a complex economic and social situation fuelled by controversial initiatives such as the upcoming distribution of 10,000 baht (about 300 dollars) to 50 million Thais. The subsidy could prove to be a waste of public money, while the national economy continues to slow down.

So far, proposals for possible solutions to the crisis have been vague and, above all, have not made specific reference to financing. If Thaksin’s influence were to be proven, it could generate a political and public opinion movement against the prime minister, as happened with her predecessor, who was accused of having appointed a person who had served a sentence for common crimes as a minister.

The debate in the Chambers on economic policies, which will take place today or tomorrow, could reveal new perspectives for the government and clarify whether and to what extent there has been a “regulatory” intervention by the Armed Forces, which, after having carried out several coups d’état, fear being definitively excluded from the management of the country.