Generals dominate new Thai king’s Privy Council

BANGKOK, Thailand (UPDATED) – Thailand’s new King Maha Vajiralongkorn appointed top army brass to his powerful advisory body on Tuesday, December 6, including 3 generals linked to the ruling junta.

The move illustrates the close military-royal alliance that has defined Thai politics for the last five decades, an era that has seen brief flirtations with democracy punctuated by multiple palace-endorsed coups.

In a statement broadcast on all television stations, it was announced that Vajiralongkorn has trimmed the size of his Privy Council from 16 to 11, keeping eight members appointed by his father and elevating three new ones.

Two of the newcomers are members of the military government’s current cabinet, Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya and Education Minister General Dapong Ratansuwan.

The third new member is General Teerachai Nakvanich, who became army chief under the junta in 2015 and retired earlier this year.

They join three ex-generals who keep their positions, giving the armed forces a majority on the council.

The deeply revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej died in October aged 88 after a seven-decade reign, leaving the politically turbulent country bereft of a unifying figure.

His only son, 64-year-old Vajiralongkorn, was proclaimed king last week.

The royal succession is a highly sensitive topic in Thailand, where criticism of the monarchy is banned, and has thrust the kingdom into a new era of uncertainty.

The most recent coup – when generals ousted an elected government in 2014, – is thought by analysts to have been staged to control the looming royal succession as Bhumibol’s health declined.

‘Balancing factions’

The constitutional monarchy has limited formal power but is one of the world’s richest and attracts the loyalty of much of the business and military elite.

Privy councillors also wield significant political influence from behind the scenes and have been appointed interim prime ministers after some previous coups.

Vajiralongkorn retained the influential and longstanding head of the council, 96-year-old head Prem Tinsulanonda, a close confidante of his father and one of Thailand’s savviest political operators.

Paul Chambers, a Thailand-based expert on the Thai monarchy, said the council’s new makeup suggested the new king was seeking a “balancing of military factions” that included members from different cliques.

The downsized body also suggests “the sovereign wants a smaller and manageable council” to which he could add more loyalists to in the future, he added.

Vajiralongkorn has enormous shoes to fill after the passing of his father, who was worshipped with near-religious devotion and deftly courted military officers and politicians to elevate the monarchy’s prestige.

A former air force fighter pilot, he has his own personal military unit – the Royal Guard 904 – which Chambers estimates is some 5,000-strong.

He has often spent much time outside the country, with his military network less deep-rooted and the extent of his power base unclear.

The new king has also yet to achieve the same degreee of popularity among ordinary Thais of his father.

But he remains shielded from public criticism by a royal defamation law that punishes each offence with up to 15 years in jail, forcing subjects and media to heavily self-censor.

The junta has ramped up use of the law since its power grab, throwing scores of people behind bars – sometimes for decades. – Rappler.com