Party of People's Power

Pickup with advertising for the People's Power Party (2007)

The People's Power Party ( Thai: พรรค พลัง ประชาชน , Phak Phalang Prachachon , PPP , pronunciation: [ pʰák pʰá.lang prà.ʨʰaʨʰ.ːon ]) was a party in Thailand . Its chairman was most recently Somchai Wongsawat . The PPP was formed in August 2007 and was considered the successor party to the Thai-Rak-Thai party of the then Prime Minister and multi-billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra , who was overthrown in a military coup in 2006 .

history

The People's Power Party was founded in 1998 by Lieutenant Colonel Garn Tienkaew. Until 2007, however, it hardly played a role, it nominated few candidates and never won a seat in parliament.

At the end of July 2007, some politicians from the Thai-Rak-Thai party (TRT) of the disempowered Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, which was forcibly dissolved after the military coup of September 19, 2006, joined this party, which in fact became the reincarnation of the TRT. The logo of the PPP has been changed to mimic that of the TRT; the party headquarters was relocated to the former TRT building. After the former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh had rejected the party presidency reportedly proposed to him, the right-wing former governor of Bangkok Samak Sundaravej was elected as party chairman in August 2007 at the request of Thaksin . This had not belonged to the TRT, so was an outsider who could not be assigned to any of the rival inner-party wings of the TRT / PPP. Samak was rooted in Bangkok, and with him as the top candidate, Thaksin probably hoped to win some seats in the capital, which had recently been a stronghold of the Democratic Party . With the core clientele of the TRT / PPP, the rural population, however, he was either unknown or unpopular. When Samak first stepped onto a PPP podium in the northeast region ( Isan ), three-quarters of the audience left the meeting. Samak was often viewed as Thaksin's “straw man”, which he himself openly admitted. Party's supporters held signs reading, "Vote Samak, You Will Get Thaksin" at campaign events.

In the parliamentary elections held in Thailand on December 23, 2007, the PPP won a relative majority with 39.6% of the list votes and 233 of the 480 seats in parliament. The PPP then formed a coalition with five other, smaller parties. On January 28, 2008, Samak was elected the new Prime Minister in parliament and appointed on the same day.

From May 2008 the protests of the opposition People's Alliance for Democracy (“yellow shirts”) against the PPP intensified . Government opponents besieged the seat of government and stormed the parliament building. They accused Samak of corruption. In September, Samak was finally removed from office as prime minister for violating the constitution by doing a sideline as a television cook . Even under Samak's successor Somchai Wongsawat, a brother-in-law of Thaksin Shinawatra, the PPP continued to be the target of protests, which increasingly paralyzed public life in Bangkok. At the end of November 2008, PAD supporters blocked the main airports in Thailand.

The party was dissolved on December 2, 2008 by the Thai Constitutional Court . This was justified with violations of the right to vote by PPP politicians. The leading members of the PPP were banned from political activity for the next five years. Some observers criticized the decision as politically motivated or at least as excessive political interference by the court. This was summarized with the catchphrase "Putsch der Richter".

Somchai Wongsawat was forced to resign as a result of the ruling, but announced that the PPP would re-establish itself under a different name and re-appoint the prime minister. To this end, the Pheu Thai Party (PTP) was founded in September , which has now been joined by 80 non-banned MPs from the dissolved PPP. They first elected Yongyuth Wichaidit as party chairman. Pracha Promnok, the leader of the Puea Paendin party , was chosen as the top candidate for the prime ministerial election in parliament. After backroom talks under the leadership of the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Anupong Paochinda , several of the previous coalition partners and a wing of the PPP itself - led by Newin Chidchob - elected Abhisit Vejjajiva from the previously opposition Democratic Party as the new Prime Minister on December 15, 2008 . They may have received cash payments for this. The government critic Sondhi Limthongkul described this irregular change of government without elections as a "coup à la Anupong". The Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) was formed from the Newin Wing .

former members

Jatuporn Prompan , politician and activist

Individual evidence

^ Pasuk Phongpaichit , Chris Baker : The Mask-play Election. Generals, Politicians and Voters at Thailand's 2007 Poll. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2 Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series, No. 144, Singapore 2010, pp. 12-13.
↑ Oliver Meiler: Rejection for the military government. ( Memento from December 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 17, 2010.
↑ Thailand's parliament elects prime minister - Samak Sundaravej is the new head of government. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . January 28, 2008.
↑ Manfred Rist: Head of Government as an illegal TV cook . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. September 9, 2008.
↑ Federico Ferrara: Thailand Unhinged. Unraveling the Myth of a Thai-style Democracy. Equinox, Singapore 2010, p. 59.
↑ Thailand expert on PPP ban. “A conflict of the power elites”. Interview with Wolfram Schaffar. In: taz.de . December 3, 2008
^ Press comments - "Putsch der Richter". In: DiePresse.com . December 4, 2008
↑ Thailand's government leaves - to come back. In: The world . December 2, 2008.
↑ Federico Ferrara: Thailand Unhinged. Unraveling the Myth of a Thai-style Democracy. Equinox Publishing, Singapore 2010.
↑ Kevin Hewison: Thailand's conservative democratization. In: East Asia's New Democracies. Deepening, reversal, non-liberal alternatives. Routledge, 2010, p. 132.
^ William Case: Democracy, governance and regime cycling in Thailand. In: Public Governance in Asia and the Limits of Electoral Democracy. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham / Northampton MA 2010, p. 226.

[1] Pasuk Phongpaichit , Chris Baker : The Mask-play Election. Generals, Politicians and Voters at Thailand's 2007 Poll. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2 Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series, No. 144, Singapore 2010, pp. 12-13.

[2] Oliver Meiler: Rejection for the military government. ( Memento from December 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 17, 2010.

[3] Thailand's parliament elects prime minister - Samak Sundaravej is the new head of government. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . January 28, 2008.

[4] Manfred Rist: Head of Government as an illegal TV cook . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. September 9, 2008.

[5] Federico Ferrara: Thailand Unhinged. Unraveling the Myth of a Thai-style Democracy. Equinox, Singapore 2010, p. 59.

[6] Thailand expert on PPP ban. “A conflict of the power elites”. Interview with Wolfram Schaffar. In: taz.de . December 3, 2008

[7] Press comments - "Putsch der Richter". In: DiePresse.com . December 4, 2008

[8] Thailand's government leaves - to come back. In: The world . December 2, 2008.

[9] Federico Ferrara: Thailand Unhinged. Unraveling the Myth of a Thai-style Democracy. Equinox Publishing, Singapore 2010.

[10] Kevin Hewison: Thailand's conservative democratization. In: East Asia's New Democracies. Deepening, reversal, non-liberal alternatives. Routledge, 2010, p. 132.

[11] William Case: Democracy, governance and regime cycling in Thailand. In: Public Governance in Asia and the Limits of Electoral Democracy. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham / Northampton MA 2010, p. 226.