Thai Leader Struggles At The Center Of A Storm

A crowd attacked the motorcade of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva last month outside a ministry building in Bangkok. Reuters

From The New York Times:

BANGKOK — Rarely has a leader in Thailand lost face in such a spectacular way. When protesters broke through a weak security cordon last month, storming into the venue of a regional summit meeting, visiting dignitaries, including the prime ministers of China and Japan, hastily fled the country.

Uncertain of the loyalty of his armed forces, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, young and untested, called together his military commanders and challenged them to stand by him.

“I said, ‘Do you want to perform your duties of making sure there is law and order?”’ Mr. Abhisit said in an interview Monday, his first detailed public account of the turmoil that almost brought down his government.

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My Comment: A Muslim insurgency in the south. Economic and financial crisis hitting everyone. An unreliable military, coupled with an electorate that is split down the middle. Thailand is not experiencing the best of times.