Today is a major day in Thailand's political calendar, as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will apply to join the United Thai Nation (UTN) party at a grand event later in the day, where he will also be formally introduced as a party member.
Over the past eight years in which he has served as PM -- longer than some of his elected predecessors -- he maintained that he was a soldier, not a politician. But by the end of the day, Gen Prayut won't be able to deny that he has joined the politicians' ranks.
In the past, Gen Prayut has explained his remark, saying he does not belong to any party -- which was true to certain extent, as he first came to power by staging a coup on May 22, 2014. When an election was held in 2019, he was picked as prime minister after the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) nominated him as an "outside" candidate.
Once his UTN membership is formalised, Gen Prayut will no longer be just an office-holder. He will have to prove that he has what it takes to be a good politician.
But what makes a good politician? A good politician is honest, transparent and with a strong moral compass. A politician must be able to understand and relate to the needs and wants of constituents, in addition to being able to communicate his or her vision to the voting public.
A good politician, most importantly, must be able to persevere in the face of adversity and criticism.
The question now is can Gen Prayut, with his military background, even be a politician? Despite his recent effort to portray a softer side to the press, Gen Prayut is known for losing his temper in public.
The latest example is his reaction to "Paed Puen", the nickname given to him by journalists on the Government House beat at the end of last year. The name is a play on the word paed, which means "eight" and puen which means "stain", referring to Gen Prayut's eight years in office, which has been marred by various controversies.
Gen Prayut expressed his discontent over the nickname "Paed Puen", slamming the year-end tradition among members of the press corps as a "crazy tradition" which are "meant to discredit".
The first lesson Gen Prayut has to learn to be a good politician is to be open-minded and accept criticism.
Good politicians also need to be willing to take accountability for their actions and decisions.
In the past, Gen Prayut could use his independence from a political party as a way to brush off criticism over the PPRP's failure in delivering policies it had promised to voters.
These policies include a minimum wage of 400–425 baht, an increase in salary for new graduates and vocational college students, a 10% decrease in income tax rates, all of which it pledged at the last election.
As he will now be a member of the UTN, Gen Prayut will no longer be able to sidestep the party's failures, if he can maintain his premiership after the election this year.
It is hard to spell out the characteristics of the ideal politician, as different people have different values.
But in general, as mentioned above, the people want to see politicians who are honest, empathetic, and able to effectively lead and communicate their vision for the future.
They also want to see politicians who are willing to listen and address their concerns and are able to work with others to find solutions to complex problems. Can Gen Prayut meet these expectations?
