Bulls fighting

In Thailand, bull fighting involved bull’s crashing heads into each other and locking horns. People bet on the outcome of the struggle.

That would seem a useful way of thinking about current politics as the two big bosses of the Puea Thai Party and Bhum Jai Thai Party have their proxies bashing up against each other as the bosses seek the power and spoils that will go to the victor.

From The Nation

Recall that back in early January, PPT wrote:

For better or worse, Thaksin Shinawatra will be the central figure in Thailand’s politics in 2025. … [W]e think that he will become the central figure in government in 2025 and his machinations will likely engender a backlash that will define the year.

Already that’s playing out, although Newin is also putting his hand up.

Thaksin’s scheming and maneuvering overshadows his daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and Newin’s scheming and maneuvering overshadows Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

The Bangkok Post’s barely reliable About Politics column argues that the upcoming and remarkably short “censure motion against the PM is being seen by some as a test to see if she is truly independent from her father…”.

Yet the fact is that what really matters is the bulls fighting. As The Nation points out, Newin and Thaksin are dueling over big buck deals. It was Anutin who recently took Newin to meet with Thaksin and Paetongtarn. The report states that the “talks that day focused on two topics: entertainment complexes and online gambling.” Billions at stake and the two bosses obviously want the get their hands on it. Other topics were constitutional amendments and the 99-year land lease law.

We imagine that the compromise on the “investigation” of Newin’s senators was one outcome of the grinding of horns.

Newin and Thaksin get away with this political domination because the Election Commission is compromised.

It is clear that politics remains a means to direct huge funds to the champion bull. It may well get nasty.