Prawit Wongsuwan greeting supporters in Bangkok on Feb 14, 2023. - AP
BANGKOK (Reuters): An influential Thai general involved in coups against two elected governments has called for an end to the country's bitter power struggle, months away from an election in which he is expected to seek the post of prime minister.
In an open letter issued on Monday (Feb 27), Prawit Wongsuwan, a former army chief and veteran political dealmaker in Thailand's royalist establishment, said democracy should be allowed to take its course and authoritarian governments installed by elites would always lose out to elected, liberal forces.
"One undeniable truth is in elections where those who seized power form a political party to compete, and even with all advantages, the authoritarians will always lose power to the liberal democrats, every time," former army chief Prawit said in the letter posted on his Facebook page.
"The knowledge and ability of the elite cannot generate the same faith from the public as the politicians who are closer with the people and are loved and respected," he added.
It is unclear what prompted the letter from 77-year-old Prawit, an ally of old money conservatives accused of colluding with judges and generals to remove successive governments led or controlled by the billionaire Shinawatra family since 2005.
Prawit's team did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the purpose of his letter.
In the letter, Prawit, who is deputy prime minister, said influential Thai elites had a mistrust of politicians and doubts about democracy or the public's ability to choose governments.
Those elites felt it necessary to intervene, he said.
Ahead of the election expected in May, Prawit has been nominated to be prime ministerial candidate for the ruling pro-military Palang Pracharat party, which was formed after the 2014 coup.
He is trailing in opinion polls, however, which are led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, the daughter and niece, respectively, of Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck Shinawatra, both self-exiled former premiers elected in landslides and toppled by the army.
Prawit said Thailand's problem was because its authoritarian and democratic forces "cannot find common ground because each side wants to win outright at the expense of the other".
