rule.
King Maha
Vajiralongkorn has made it clear to the generals running the country that he
will not just sit in the background as a constitutional figurehead since taking
the throne in December from a father treated by Thais as semi-divine.
That matters
in Thailand, where relationships between monarchy, army and politicians have
long determined the stability of Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy and
America's oldest regional ally.
Predictions
by some pundits of a troubled royal transition have proven wrong - at least for
now.
"His
majesty has proven himself to be very adept at managing the junta and the
military," said academic Paul Chambers at the Institute of Southeast Asian
Affairs in Chiang Mai.
None of more
than two dozen serving or former officials, military officers,
parliamentarians, diplomats or analysts that Reuters spoke to for this story
saw any immediate threat to that balance of power.
With jail
facing anyone found guilty of insulting the monarchy under the nation’s “lese
majeste” laws, few Thais comment openly on royal matters.
Asked for a
response for this story, a palace official said it did not comment to the
media. A government spokesman declined comment.
RELATIONSHIP
OF OBEDIENCE
King
Vajiralongkorn started from a very different place to his father, King Bhumibol
Adulyadej, who died on Oct. 13.
When the
teenage Bhumibol took the throne in the late 1940s, the future of the monarchy
itself looked in doubt.
Building
alliances, he quietly re-established the royal aura and authority - becoming
ultimate arbiter during coups and spells of chaos as Thailand changed from
rural backwater to middle-income country.
King
Vajiralongkorn, 64, has spent years abroad, his private life complicated by
three marriages, and he has yet to win the public adoration received by his
father.
But the
king's background puts him on different terms with the generals: He went
through military academies; he saw combat against insurgents in the 1970s; he
can fly a fighter jet.
In line with
protocol, junta members prostrate themselves before the new king at audiences,
as palace photos show.
"The
relationship is at least one of obedience," said Eugenie Mérieau, a
lecturer and researcher at Sciences Po in Paris.
CONSTITUTIONAL
CHANGES
The junta
was quick to obey when the palace asked for constitutional changes - the first
such request in decades.
Changes
relating to current royal powers were pushed through within days. So was the
ability to make further changes to a new constitution that is in the works.
Behind the
palace walls, the royal household is being reshaped. Over 20 appointments and
promotions have been made by the new king and published in the Royal Gazette.
This
includes reshuffling senior members of the household, many of whom had held
posts for decades under King Bhumibol, and promoting military officials with
ties to the new king.
The head of
the influential Privy Council, 96-year-old Prem Tinsulanonda, remains in place,
but half the other members are new. The six new appointments have increased
representation of those with a background in the army's Wongthewan faction or
King's Guard, where the king served.
Among other
notable military promotions was Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya within the
King's Own Bodyguard. Often seen at the king's side, though not publicly
designated as his consort, she became a general on the day he took the throne.
Last week,
the king appointed a new Buddhist supreme patriarch, ending more than a year of
tussling over the position. Parliament restored the king's authority to do so
after 25 years of having a council of monks make the decision.
The new
patriarch is from a fraternity closely tied to the monarchy rather than the one
the religious council had first proposed.
UNITY AND
RECONCILIATION
The big
question is what happens when there is a resumption of political competition,
suspended after the last military coup in 2014.
The king has
stressed unity within the divided country, both in his New Year address and at
a late night meeting with the country's leadership in January to push for more
help for flood victims, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said.
That meeting
also coincided with the government's moves to set up a reconciliation committee
ahead of elections expected next year.
The aim of
the panel is to listen to different political factions, to establish some
common ground between them and then come up with an agreement all would sign to
ensure a peaceful transition to civilian-led democracy.
One name
above all polarizes Thais: Thaksin Shinawatra.
The former
"CEO prime minister" was a hero for poorer Thais loyal to his
populist movement. Overthrown in 2006, he lives in Dubai to avoid a jail
sentence for corruption. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was prime minister
from 2011 until just before the 2014 coup.
Thaksin, a
self-made billionaire, is reviled by a Bangkok-based, royalist and pro-army
elite. Conservative politicians voice fears in private of any unity deal that
would allow Thaksin to return.
Both
Shinawatras have been ahead of many other Thai politicians in adopting gold
framed pictures of King Vajiralongkorn as the banners on their Twitter feeds.
Nobody from
their political camp would comment about the monarchy.
"There
is a palpable sense of urgency with regard to reconciliation that some
politicians say stems from the new king's call for peace and unity," said
Michael Vatikiotis, regional director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue,
which has been involved in reconciliation efforts.
"The
military government is under some pressure to deliver on the king’s request,
which may even speed up the transition back to civilian government."
*REUTERS*
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