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Thailand Prem in Power
Although a military figure, Thailand's new prime minister
sought to give civilians a greater role in government and promote
more stable and democratic political institutions. He enlisted
the support of the Democrat Party and the Social Action Party in
the House of Representatives and, in contrast to Kriangsak,
appointed mostly civilians to his cabinet. He benefited immensely
from the support given him by the royal family, as was especially
evident in April 1981 when "Young Turk" officers launched a coup
attempt in the capital region. These officers established a
"Revolutionary Council," disbanded the National Assembly, and
promised sweeping social changes, including land reform. Prem
rushed to Khorat, where the royal family was in residence. When
it became clear to regional military commanders that Prem enjoyed
the king's backing in the present crisis, they offered him their
support. On April 3, 1981, loyalist military units secured
Bangkok and rounded up the rebellious officers with minimal
fighting and casualties.
The monarch's role in politics was low key, but still
pivotal. He had played a major part in the 1973 transition from
military dictatorship to democracy. During the 1973-76 period,
however, the king became increasingly apprehensive about the
kinds of changes that were emerging because of a more liberalized
political system. Communism seemed a genuine threat not only to
political stability but also to the continuity of the royal
family. This danger explains the king's support for extremist
groups such as the Village Scouts, his controversial decision to
visit ex-strongman Thanom in a Buddhist monastery on the eve of
the October 1976 violence, and his backing of Thanin's repressive
anticommunist regime. Bhumibol's support of Prem after 1980,
however, suggests that although his basically conservative
perspective was unchanged, the king was also concerned with
promoting the development of stable parliamentary institutions in
which the military would have a limited, and institutionalized,
role.
Prem, however, faced serious problems. A major figure in the
suppression of the April 1981 coup attempt was General Arthit
Kamlangek, deputy commander of the Second Army Region. After
Bangkok was retaken, Arthit was rewarded for his loyalty with the
post of commander of the First Army Region, which encompassed the
capital. In October 1982, he was appointed army commander in
chief. Arthit thus seemed poised to succeed, or push aside, Prem
as Thailand's prime minister. Prem's government had been severely
weakened by the coup attempt and by continual dissension among
the civilian members of the government. Moreover, economic
problems focused popular dissatisfaction on Prem in both urban
and rural areas. Students became politically more active, though
the leftist extremism of the 1973-76 period was not evident.
Students and workers combined forces to protest an increase in
bus fares in 1982, obliging the government to rescind the
increase. Demonstrations by farmers to raise the price of rice
also occurred during this year with the backing of civilian
politicians.
By early 1983, however, Prem had the distinction of being the
longest serving prime minister since the fall of Thanom in 1973.
Although the military had remained the most powerful political
force in the early 1980s, civilian political institutions had
shown surprising vitality. One
reason for their strength was that the political parties had some
success in mobilizing popular support behind economic and social
issues. On a more basic level, there was evidence that the
population, especially in the urban areas, had grown tired of
military strongmen and wanted stable and more open political
institutions.
Elections were scheduled for April 1983. A major obstacle to
be overcome before the polling, however, was resolution of the
heated dispute over "transitory" clauses in the 1978
Constitution. These clauses, which had ensured military control
over the political system, were to become inoperative on April
21, 1983. Unless a constitutional amendment was passed to sustain
the clauses, the appointed upper house, the Senate, would no
longer be able to sit in joint session with the lower house and
thus would lose a substantial measure of power. Also, government
officials, including military officers, would no longer be
allowed to serve in the cabinet. Finally, the structure of
election constituencies would be radically altered. Small,
single-member constituencies would be replaced by large
constituencies covering entire provinces. The first two changes
were naturally unpopular with the military elite, while the third
alienated the members of the smaller political parties, who
believed the creation of "winner take all" province-level
constituencies would deprive them of parliamentary
representation.
These groups supported constitutional amendments to make the
transitory clauses permanent and preserve the conservative
aspects of the 1978 Constitution. The amendment proposals,
however, were narrowly defeated when the Chart Thai voted against
them in the legislature
(see The Central Government
, ch. 4). Prem
deftly engineered a compromise by declaring that elections would
be held before the transitory clauses (and the small constituency
system) expired on April 21. The April 18 balloting, however,
resulted in gains for the major parties. A coalition of the
Social Action Party, Democrat Party, and National Democracy
(Chart Prachathipatai) Party was stitched together and had a
small majority in the lower house (the Chart Thai was excluded
from the government because it lacked military backing). As a
result of his continued military backing and image as a leader
above party politics, Prem was reappointed prime minister.
Data as of September 1987
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