Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced he was stepping down from his post on April 4th, after months of peaceful but adamant protests in Bangkok. His resignation followed closely on the election, which his party Thai Rak Thai won, but with a much smaller margin of approval than in any previous elections, and in which record numbers of abstention votes were cast in protest. The opposition parties had boycotted the election, essentially making it a referendum on Thaksin's leadership. There were enough abstentions in 39 districts that Thai Rak Thai members were unable to claim victory - parliament will be unable to convene until fresh elections are held in those districts.

The no longer PM T left office with the following statement: "It's not that I'm not willing to fight, but when I fight, the nation loses. I don't want to see bloodshed between Thais. Thai blood must not paint the land of Thailand." Its assumed by many that his decision was influenced by the fact that in a few short months world leaders and royalty will be paying official visits to Thailand to honor the King's 60th birthday. Thaksin had in fact met with the King about 4 hours before he made his announcement. Mum's the word on what the King might have said or done during this meeting. I have conflicting images of the mild mannered King morphing into a raging patriarch once the door is shut and smacking Thaksin around like a red-headed step child - or the King giving that very calm "I'm disappointed in you" speech that has cut so many children down to size. Either way, if you recall the about-face he pulled in his campaign to sue the media, this is not the first meeting from which Thaksin has emerged seemingly with his tail between his legs.

It would seem that this is a positive end to the recent conflict, which could have had dire consequences for democracy in Thailand. I for one have never been a big fan of Thaksin, and am certianly not sorry to see him go. One could argue that the role he played when he first emerged with his populist Thai Rak Thai party bode well for setting Thailand on the path to democracy. Perhaps if he'd actually adhered to the ideals with which he won the hearts and minds of rural Thai's, history would remember him better. But as this editorial points out, the end of Thaksinomics is good for Thailand and Asia. One can only hope that this incident will lead to constitutional reform in Thailand that will create a real balance of power that will reign in future tycoon-prime ministers looking to sell off the country in the guise of infrastructural-mega-projects. I sincerely hope this will lead to a reconsideration of the mass-transit mega plan they have in store for Chiang Mai.

However, it seems it's a bit too soon to be counting our blessings. Thaksin also announced his plan to remain in parliament as a minister, and the interim Prime Minister he's appointed is none other than his good buddy Chidchai Vanasatidya. Chidchai and Thaksin go way back to the police academy, where they graduated in the same class. Chidchai has, during his political career, presided over the 'war on drugs', in which 2,500 people were killed extra-judicially (many ethnic minorities), as well as overseeing security in the violence-plagued south.

Chidchai is only the interim Prime Minister, but nonetheless, it would be a little naive to beleive he'd run things any differently than Thaksin himself. Or indeed, that Thaksin won't still be running things from his seat in parliament. Wouldn't it be rich if he was appointed to the cabinet? Knock on wood. We can only hope a more impartial candidate is chosen when the real government forms post-election.

Basically, the protests have been brought to an end, and Thailand has perhaps reached a point where they can begin negotiations on the next step, but we'll still have to wait and see whether anything has, or will, really change. The protesters goal was to not only to divest the country of Thaksin, but to push through real constitutional reforms that would limit the power of the ruling party and its leader. There are mixed views on whether or not this situation overall has positive or negative implications for Thailand, with the success of the protests alternately being referred to as 'people power' and 'mob rule'. Again, it looks like we'll still just have to wait and see where this all goes.

As for how this could impact Burma, stronger opposition in parliament could bode very well, for Burma as well as for human rights inside Thailand. But I suspect that with Thailand being pre-occupied with this situation, and Chidchai in power in the meantime, there will be little change in the recent friendly relationship between Thaksin's government and the junta, or recent policies that have negatively impacted Burmese migrants and refugees.


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