Thai leader survives confidence vote

Ignoring prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s victory in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, protesters in Thailand continued their campaign to shut down government offices, cutting power yesterday to Bangkok’s police headquarters.

However, the number of demonstrators appeared to have declined sharply, with police putting their numbers at about 15,000, compared with the tens of thousands who took over the finance ministry and surrounded other key government ministries earlier in the week.

“Their numbers are declining gradually each day,” said Maj Gen Piya Uthayo, a police spokesman. Yet there were still large crowds on the streets yesterday evening, and the police tally did not take into account protests in the provinces.

The parliamentary vote of confidence, which centred on the alleged mishandling of large government projects, was not surprising given the governing party’s dominance in parliament and the allegiance it commands in large swathes of the country, the result of years of policies that have sought to curry favour with rural areas.

In a speech yesterday, Ms Yingluck, the sister of the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, invoked Thailand's long-serving monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in urging protesters to go home. The king's birthday, a national holiday, is on December 5th, and many protesters are ardent royalists.

“This is a time when people will jointly honour his majesty the king,” she said. Ms Yingluck also repeated earlier offers of dialogue with protesters. Akanat Promphan, a spokesman for the protest leaders, rejected the offer, calling it “insincere.”

Ms Yingluck’s speech came after her government easily survived the no-confidence vote, winning 297-134. Mr Thaksin, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2006, when he was deposed by the military, remains popular in the northeast of the country but is despised by some who are resentful of his political dominance and who say he has used that power to further his business interests. He has also been accused of overshadowing the king, who commands strong loyalty after more than six decades on the throne, especially among older Thais.

The opposition Democrat Party, which has been ambivalent about whether it would give its backing to the protests, seemed to endorse them more forcefully yesterday.

Leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said the party shared the goal of “overthrowing” the government and that Ms Yingluck had no legitimacy. He urged people to join the protests. “Come out!” he said. “More of you, come out!”

– (New York Times)