US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK1739

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001739 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, TH, Elections - Thai 
SUBJECT: THAI PARLIAMENT FORMALLY RE-ELECTS THAKSIN AS 
PRIME MINISTER 
 
REF: A) BANGKOK 1278 B) BANGKOK 1375 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Robert J. Clarke, Section 1.4 (b) 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: On March 9, in a vote that surprised no one, 
Thailand's new National Assembly chose Thaksin Shinawatra as 
Prime Minister, formally completing a historic re-election 
bid, the first time an elected Thai PM has regained the top 
post after a full four-year term.  The over-whelmed political 
opposition dissented from the choice of Thaksin as PM, with 
most abstaining.  Royal approval of a controversial Thaksin 
proposal to streamline the authority of the cabinet in cases 
of national emergency appears imminent, but the proposal 
continues to be decried as an end-around of proper democratic 
procedures by critics.  The official cabinet lineup will be 
announced March 11.  End Summary. 
 
 
2. (U) On March 9, the third full day of official business by 
Thailand's new 500-member National Assembly, 377 
parliamentarians (MP) chose incumbent PM Thaksin Shinawatra 
of the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party as prime minister. 116 MPs 
abstained, 1 voted "no" and 6 were recorded absent. This 
outcome was no surprise following TRT's landslide victory on 
February 6 (Ref A). According to Parliamentary sources, 374 
of TRTs 377 MPs voted for Thaksin, along with two Mahachon 
Party MPs, who form that party's entire parliamentary 
delegation.  Joining the "yes" votes for Thakin was Chart 
Thai (CT) Party leader and former prime minister Banharn 
Silapacha, who made good on his public promise to vote for 
Thaksin.  Those abstaining included all of the main 
opposition Democrat Party (DP) members present, 23 members of 
the CT Party and Thaksin himself.  Another CT MP, 
controversial massage parlor tycoon turned politician Chuwit 
Kamolvisit, was the only MP to vote against Thaksin.  Chuwit 
is making every effort to gather as much personal publicity 
as he can by not following conventional Thai political norms, 
one of which stipulates that members (especially first term 
MPs) should follow the party leader's direction.  In another 
break with tradition, the three new Assembly leaders voted 
for the Prime Minister.  In the past, the Assembly President 
and Deputies abstained as a symbol of neutrality. (Note: 
Prior to the vote for prime minister, the National Assembly 
on March 7 had elected  former Interior Minister Phokin 
Phalakun as President of the National Assembly (equivalent to 
Speaker of the House), veteran MP Suchart Thancharoen as 1st 
Vice President, and Lalita Lerksamran as 2nd Vice President. 
All three are TRT party MPs.  Lalita's election marked the 
first time a woman was selected for that post. End note.) 
 
CONTROVERSIAL POWERS TO HOLD CABINET MEETINGS APPROVED 
 
3. (C)   Despite his overwhelming victory and popularity, 
Thaksin continues to be controversial.  One example is the 
February 25 revelation by Borwornsak Uwanno, Secretary to the 
Cabinet, that PM Thaksin has proposed cabinet "reforms (which 
will be submitted to the King for Royal approval on March 11) 
to allow him to call a cabinet meeting with a quorum of only 
one-third of the 35 cabinet ministers, or 12 members.  The 
Constitution does not specifically state the number of 
ministers required for a quorum, but generally it has been 
the practice that at least half the ministers be present, 
mirroring the requirement that at least half the members of 
parliament must be present to form a quorum in the nation's 
House of Representatives.  While 12 ministers would be needed 
under "normal" circumstances, the proposal also states that 
under "emergency situations, cases important to the national 
interest," and for the benefit of secrecy, a cabinet meeting 
can take place with the Prime Minister and only one cabinet 
member.  Borwornsak has unconvincingly argued in public that 
these changes are simply designed to make the Cabinet more 
efficient.  Embassy sources inside the PM's office expect 
that the proposal will be endorsed by the King (who does not 
normally intervene in day-to-day politics) and become 
effective on March 12, just prior to the endorsement of the 
new cabinet. 
 
CRITICS REACT 
 
4. (U)  Opposition leaders, academics and local press have 
all severely criticized the Cabinet reform plan, generally 
characterizing it as a dangerous move giving too much 
authority to the executive.  They also pointed out that it 
was unnecessary as there are already measures in place for 
the cabinet to operate expeditiously in times of national 
emergency.  The announcement of the reform plan coincided 
with the release of a paper by Thirayut Boonmi, a Thammasat 
University Sociology professor well-known for his trenchant 
criticism of Thaksin.  His study compared the Thaksin 
"regime" to that of former Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, who 
served as the nation's prime minister from 1958 to 1963 and 
enacted many dictatorial laws to uphold Sarit's grip on 
power.  Others have been just as critical but more plain 
spoken. One critic, noted lawyer and Senator Thongbai 
Thongpao, warned that "Power is being consolidated into the 
hands of one man, Thaksin."  Thaksin's timing for 
announcement of the Cabinet reform plan seemed poorly 
planned, coming on the heels of sharp negative public 
reaction to his color-coded "zoning plan" to guide 
distribution of government funds in Thailand's separatist 
violence-plagued three most southernmost provinces (Ref B). 
 
CABINET LIST OUT MARCH 11 
 
5.(U)  On March 11, Thaksin will submit his list of 35 
cabinet members to the King for approval.  This list will 
name selections for 7 deputy PMs, 19 ministers and 9 deputy 
ministers.  Speculation on who will get what position is 
rife, but still unreliable.  It is expected that many 
familiar faces from the first Thaksin administration will 
reappear, some wearing a new hat.  It's also expected that 
the PM will appear with his full cabinet for an audience with 
the King on March 14. 
BOYCE