
Bangkok, Thailand – As Thais celebrated the Songkran festival last month by soaking each other in a barrage of water fights, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was hoping the occasion would help rescue his lacklustre campaign for re-election.
Donning a bright Hawaiian shirt and armed with a massive blue water gun Prayuth, the army chief-turned-politician who overthrew Yingluck Shinawatra’s government in a 2014 coup, made a surprise appearance at Bangkok’s Khao San Road, joining startled revellers in the traditional water fights that mark the festival.