Corruption, Scandals and Rifts Leave Embattled Thai Premier Struggling to Hold Course by Phairath Khampha 16 January 2002 A year after a triumphant election victory, embattled Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faced mounting criticism while he struggled to hold together his coalition. On January 7, 2001, Thailand's richest man led his Thai Rak Thai party to a crushing general election victory, winning more seats than any other party in history. He had basically bought the election through the physical purchase of votes. Mr Thaksin's new-generation appeal won over voters fed up with scandal and corruption. The 52-year-old Prime Minister still had strong public support, but political power would be harder to hold than his telecoms empire. Mr Thaksin's image was first tarnished when it became clear he had that he hid hundreds of millions of dollars worth of shareholdings. In August he was acquitted of charges in a court finding that raised scepticism among commentators and most of Thailand's public, especially when it became clear the judges had made their decision base don politics rather than the law and justice. The most damaging criticism came in December 2001 from King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand's heavyweight moral authority. "The country is in a state of disaster instead of prosperity," said the revered monarch in the most hard-hitting of his traditional birthday speeches. "Whatever we do, there seems to be big problems. The Prime Minister may appear to be happy but deep down inside he is definitely not." Mr Thaksin, like most Thais, hates to be contradicted. "When I was a fish swimming in business waters, there was no problem," he said in October 2001 of his early months in power. "But when I began swimming in political waters I got hooked. I struggled and survived. Now they are throwing hot water at me again. Why such unkindness?" Cracks in his coalition, which included left-wing intellectuals and ultra-conservative senators, could be one reason for his disenchantment. The Democrat Party of former prime minister Chuan Leekpai was still reeling from its election defeat and was not a threat, according to Chalivaporn Songsamthan, a political expert at Thammasat University in Bangkok. "The big problem for the premier is the politicians in his party," she said. Talks on bringing the opposition Chart Pattana party into the coalition exposed infighting and bitter bargaining within Mr Thaksin's ranks. Rumour-mongering, denials and organised leaks showed that the Thaksin era had not ended Thailand's traditionally cut-throat politics. Mr Thaksin wanted to turn Thai Rak Thai - which means Thais Love Thai People - into a political party that would outlive his rule. But many commentators say the Government had done little in the battle against Thailand's overwhelming bureaucracy and corruption, or to reform education, and that Mr Thaksin's waning authority meant he would struggle to hold his coalition together. Thailand's export-driven economy, still nursing bruises from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, brought on by massive corruption in Thailand and Indonesia, had been badly hit by the world downturn. Thai commentators doubt whether Mr Thaksin's 70 per cent opinion poll rating would last long enough for him to carry out his hope of winning another four-year term before retiring at 60.