Thailand: the abscess swells[Thaïlande : l'abcès gonfle]

Put in parallel with the explosion of political passions of 2010 and the electoral fervor of 2011, 2012 will have been relatively calm, on the political level, in Thailand. Relative calm, however. Many underground movements are agitated under a quiet surface: the various actors of the extended transition crisis, which has shaken the country since 2005, haggle, exert pressure and position themselves. It is a constant in Thai history: the different groups within the elite compete for the conquest of power outside of any ideological debate, but according to economic interests or in connection with the control of the country. . Economically, the kingdom benefited in 2012 from the postponement of investments caused by the catastrophic floods at the end of 2011. But the well-known handicaps of Thailand (education system and lack of innovation in particular) do not make it possible to consider with serenity the near future. The hushed ballet that took centre stage in Thailand in 2012 revolved mainly around the failed offensive by the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, elected in July 2011, to get parliament to pass laws that would have strengthened the positions of the political clan of Thaksin Shinawatra, his older brother, former Prime Minister overthrown by a coup in September 2006.