After two decades marked by two military coups in 2006 and 2014, Thailand is supposed to be a "reformed" country by now. While all kinds of reforms were promised with each military takeover -- from political parties, parliament and constitution to the bureaucracy, military and police -- none has taken place. In fact, pledged reforms have gone in the opposite direction in the past. Nowhere is this reaction and restoration of old power and interests more evident than in Thailand's media industry.
A quick glance at Thai politics since the 2014 putsch, which came on top of its 2006 forerunner, reveals political decay and deterioration in all of the major institutions. Political parties are run-of-the-mill, purpose-built to serve the powers-that-be. The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) is a case in point, as a party of convenience and vested interests that was set up to back Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as prime minister, working together with the coup-appointed Senate. The only party that dared to call for, and act on, political and economic reforms, namely the Future Forward Party, was duly dissolved by the Constitutional Court. Its successor vehicle, the Move Forward Party (MFP), is also at risk of disbandment because it keeps calling for reforms of outdated institutions that rule this land.
