All eyes will be on the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre after 4.30pm today. Representatives of Thai and foreign media outlets and many defectors from other parties, including Palang Pracharath (PPRP) and Pheu Thai, will be there for a major political event -- the formal registration to join the United Thai Nation Party (UTN), or Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party.
The event is significant because UTN is expected to announce Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, who will register today, as its premiership candidate in the next general election, albeit for two years only because he has already served six years in office.
Membership registration events are normally low-key, held at a party's head office, but not this time for the UTN party. The party has decided to choose the same venue used by the government to hold the recent Apec summit to showcase its high-profile new member.
As per protocol, Gen Prayut will be given the party's jacket, bearing its tri-colour logo, which he will put on for a media photo op, to be followed by a press conference and other undisclosed activities.
From then, he will be a full-fledged politician -- a description he has long denied for the past eight years.
This means that he will be more closely and intensively scrutinised by the media. It is important for him to stay cool and maintain composure when confronted with unpleasant questions from the press.
The prime minister formally joining UTN will give the party a big boost and enhance its chances in the forthcoming election. In the meantime, it will pose a real challenge to other parties, particularly PPRP and Pheu Thai.
UTN leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga is aiming to win 100 House seats. The goal is too ambitious for a new party, although there are several veteran politicians among its ranks, such as defectors from Palang Pracharath and the Democrat parties.
Nevertheless, the presence of UTN will definitely threaten the Pheu Thai Party and render its aim of winning a landslide victory impossible.
Pheu Thai is confident it would because the party is convinced it is leading in the polls.
Despite the fact that opinion polls are not definite and subject to bias, Pheu Thai Party leader Dr Cholnan Srikaew recently announced the party will not join other parties to form a new government now and the issue will be discussed only after the election.
There are roughly about four months before the election in May and the prime minister can help curry favour for UTN members.
As a matter of fact, Gen Prayut has already embarked on the campaign trail by making inspection trips to upcountry provinces, in his capacity as prime minister, to visit villagers and follow up on various government projects.
He will be often seen, reaching out to the people who are now viewed as his potential voters, in upcountry provinces during the weekends and perhaps in Bangkok communities after office hours during weekdays.
This may cause panic among the Pheu Thai and Move Forward parties, which won the most seats in Bangkok in the last election.
People may be bored of the prime minister and the opposition, who has accused his administration of failing to manage the economy and other areas, but what are the achievements of the opposition parties? What new viable ideas or projects do they have to offer to the people?
Doubtlessly, UTN has emerged as another choice for the Thai voters who will make the next election very fierce and exciting that a landslide victory by a single party is quite remote, if not a pure fantasy.
Gen Prayut is a shrewd politician and cannot be underestimated. But we have yet to hear from him about his new ideas and vision for the country, outside his 20-year national strategy, which has yet to be realised.
Otherwise, he will just be old wine in a new bottle.
Thailand is lagging behind neighbouring countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. It needs a leader who thinks out of the box, with a far-sighted vision to face the challenges which will have serious impacts on all of us, such as climate change and technology disruption.
Visions and beautiful promises alone will be pointless if there is no will to follow them up with actions.
Veera Prateepchaikul is former editor, 'Bangkok Post'.
