As the waters from Thailand's recent devastating floods recede, they reveal a distinctly changed political landscape. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's governing Puea Thai party, which held a commanding position in the immediate aftermath of its landslide electoral victory last July, is now on the defensive on various fronts as it deals with public perceptions that it badly mismanaged the crisis.
The Royal Thai Army (RTA), which has suffered a steady decline in popular support since overthrowing former prime minister and Yingluck's elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra in a 2006 coup, has now regained much of that public prestige and self-confidence due to its comparatively efficient and professional response to the flooding.
Last year's election, held in the aftermath of a 2010 lethal military crackdown on pro-Thaksin street demonstrators, left the army demoralized and divided. In public, the generals treated Puea Thai's victory as they would any other electoral result. In private, many senior officers felt that an ultimate battle with Thaksin's political movement had been lost and that it was only a matter of time before many of country's institutions - including the military - were fundamentally remade by Puea Thai.
Full Story: Asia Times
Thoughts: Interesting reading and good to finally read a positive piece about the Thai Army, no surprise that Yingyang had her head buried in the sand during the floods, probably too busy searching for her brothers passport.
Thai military regains lost political ground
Thai military regains lost political ground
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson