EDITORIAL : Leadership needed from reluctant PM

EDITORIAL : Leadership needed from reluctant PM.

Surayud's weak performance since taking office threatens to undermine his government's legitimacy to rule.

More than three months have elapsed and the Surayud government along with the Council for National Security (CNS) have yet to establish a semblance of a professional working relationship. When General Surayud Chulanont was appointed prime minister, the Thai public thought that as the former supreme commander and Army chief - who counted coup-maker and CNS chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin among his trusted subordinates - he was well qualified to head the interim government.

After all, this government was assigned the impossible task of ridding Thai politics of corruption and then restoring democracy. Conventional wisdom had it that no one other than a democratically-minded soldier of Surayud's stature would be able to strike the delicate balance between exerting political leadership to get things done in a decisive manner and keeping the all-powerful military at arm's length.

That hasn't happened and the Surayud administration is increasingly being seen as weak and ineffectual while the military junta, which is supposed to play a supporting role in ensuring national security, is aggressively pushing its way to the centre stage of politics. The prime minister is squandering the public's goodwill - his most precious capital - while some overbearing military leaders are causing jitters with their barely-concealed lofty ambitions. The worst thing that could happen to Thailand at this time of political uncertainty would be for the Surayud administration to continue on this precipitous decline to the point where it loses the legitimacy to rule altogether. Such an event would leave a political vacuum to be filled by military leaders whose credentials as promoters of democracy remain very much in doubt.

Surayud must be reminded that even though he came across as a somewhat reluctant prime minister to begin with, his acceptance of the premier's office at this crucial juncture leaves him with no excuse not to live up the public's high expectations to see a new constitution promulgated, full democracy restored and a fair election held by year's end.

It cannot be emphasised enough that for all of this to happen, the military must be made to go back to the barracks and submit to the authority of the outgoing civilian government. This is important so that when the new civilian government comes to power after the next general election, there will be no question as to who is really in charge. Thailand's future as a democratic society depends on this.

It is worth noting that Surayud's performance so far as the country's chief executive leaves a lot to be desired. His legalistic approach in dealing with political corruption, particularly the ongoing investigations into alleged corruption committed by Thaksin and his cronies, is widely seen as excessively slow and ponderous.

Surayud's calm reaction to the coordinated New Year's Eve bombings that killed three people and left scores injured was not a bad thing but in the eyes of the public he did not show himself to be on top of the situation and he failed to reassure the public. Worse, there is scant evidence to support what looks like a premature claim made by both the government and the military that disaffected elements linked to the deposed Thaksin regime were responsible for the attacks.

The CNS directive issued on Wednesday ordering the broadcast media to stop airing views sympathetic to deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra dealt a serious blow to Surayud in his capacity as the restorer of democracy. Although CNS officials backtracked on this yesterday, saying they were only making a suggestion, it is disturbing to note that the military junta has the temerity to tamper with media freedoms that are part and parcel of the civil liberties that form the bedrock of a democratic society.

Surayud has a great responsibility on his shoulders. The failure to fulfil his obligations will not only reflect poorly on his personal reputation, but will be seen as an unforgivable betrayal of the public trust. Surayud's failure has the potential to turn back the clock on democracy to the time when the armed forces dominated all aspects of political life and civilian governments only served as their puppets. It may be true that the CNS has the power to install the prime minister as well as the power to remove him. But that should not stop him from exerting his leadership in order to develop a professional working relationship and to put his power of persuasion to good use for the sake of the country.

The Nation
Friday January 12, 2007