Thailand Gives Investors a Reason to Cut and Run
The ban on an opposition party is a Pyrrhic victory for the government as stocks sink into a bear market.
The last thing this economy needs is another bout of political instability.
Photographer: ALEX OGLE/AFP/Getty Images
A decision by Thailand's constitutional court to ban the second-largest opposition party should be a boost for Prayuth Chan-Ocha, junta leader turned elected prime minister. Future Forward’s leaders were among his highest-profile critics. Yet the long sought-after victory looks Pyrrhic.
The former general’s problems have been piling up. Thailand’s flatlining economy, already suffering from the worst drought in decades, is feeling the shock waves from China’s coronavirus epidemic, which has hurt tourism and manufacturing supply chains. Prayuth is under pressure over a soldier’s shooting rampage earlier this month, which raised troubling questions over the military’s involvement in business. The premier also stands accused by Future Forward of helping to cover up Malaysia's 1MDB scandal with the arrest of a whistle-blower, an allegation the government denies.