Former Thai PM Thaksin Moved to Hospital

Facts

• Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was on Wednesday moved to the Police General Hospital on his first night at Bangkok Remand Prison. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday upon his return from 15 years in self-imposed exile.¹
• Thaksin was rushed to the hospital early Wednesday morning for emergency care, after prison doctors failed to bring down his blood pressure. He was reportedly admitted with complaints of chest pain, hypertension, and low blood oxygen.²
• A team of six specialist doctors treating Thaksin claims his condition has slightly improved, but he still suffers from fatigue and hypertension, and remains on oxygen support.³
• As the 74-year-old former leader is eligible to apply for a royal pardon under prison rules, speculations are rife that his medical condition could make it easier to get greater leniency.⁴
• The news comes after his political ally Srettha Thavisin was elected on Tuesday evening and, on Wednesday, secured royal endorsement. The development was notably achieved without the support of the progressive Move Forward Party, the largest in parliament.⁵
• The conservative Pheu Thai Party stands accused, following the most recent election, of striking a deal with its longtime enemies in the military in return for Thaksin's safe return and Srettha's smooth rise to the top job.⁶

Sources: ¹Bangkokpost, ²Nationthailand, ³Thaipbsworld, ⁴Guardian, ⁵Al Jazeera and ⁶Reuters.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by South China Morning Post. Now that Thaksin is back in Thailand, the country may finally get some respite from a cycle of elections and coups, as the two-decade political feud between his faction and the royalist military elite has ended with a political compromise. The long-sought political stability will last so long as there's success in tackling deep-rooted problems and balancing urban and rural interests, but the alliance was certainly necessary to reach this point.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Time. The fact that Thaksin and his party have become allies to their once military rivals so as to cobble together a new government and let the billionaire populist return home shows that the Thai elite isn't committed to democracy at all. As supposedly opposite forces have cynically joined efforts to prevent the democratically elected Move Forward party from taking office, it's clear that their goal is exclusively to protect the status quo.