Pundits fret election roadmap may be bound for a dead end, detour or endless delays v Khunying Sudarat's marigold debacle will bolster or torpedo her party leadership aspirations v Bangkok governor may need solid PR shield to survive flood flak
Organic threat to roadmap
Politicians are understandably curious as to whether the National Council for Peace and Order can ensure the roadmap will stay on course despite Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's assurance the general election will take place in November 2018.
Many were looking for potential hindrances and their attention was fixed on the 10 draft organic laws proceeding at various stages along the legislative assembly line.
If even one were to hit a significant speedbump the roadmap could be disrupted and the election delayed, political observers said.
Experts agree that writing an organic bill which satisfies all sides is no mean feat. Most of the organic draft bills designed by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) have been subject to a scrutiny panel to thrash out potential constitutionality flaws.
Experts see the joint scrutiny as a "pressure valve" parties can use to vent their frustration at sore points in a particular draft.
For example, many Election Commission (EC) members were less than pleased with the organic law governing the poll watchdog agency that was recently passed by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) which seeks to remove the election commissioners by raising the qualifications they must possess.
After the CDC has finished writing the NACC organic bill, it will submit its draft to the NLA for deliberation.
Before that, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) can look at the draft, critique it and press for explanations concerning points of contention.
CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan admitted the NACC has sent the draft organic law back because nearly every section has been challenged, with red ink scribbled all over it.
Mr Meechai said he has clarified about half of the queries. He said the CDC must speed up to get the job done in time but he was confident this would happen.
Most of the queries from the NACC relate to the expanding workload and pressure from deadlines being introduced by the organic bill. For example, it requires the NACC to determine whether a complaint submitted to it has sufficient grounds to be pursued within seven days of receiving it.
If the NACC rejects the complaint it is legally bound to inform the petitioner within the same timeframe.
The NACC insisted the seven-day deadline in either case was too short. The CDC, however, argued this would help pick up the pace of graft cases involving the NACC and solve the issue of "belated justice".
The CDC has stood its ground on the deadline issue, according to Mr Meechai. He said if the NACC insists on pressing for a longer deadline, it must approach the NLA and try to convince the assembly.
Despite the apparent quagmire, Mr Meechai has dismissed concerns the roadmap may be delayed. He also warned that reviewing the bill for too long could test people's patience.
Self-promotion not always good
They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but people may have second thoughts about that following the bad press generated by Pheu Thai Party heavyweight Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan last weekend.
The veteran Bangkok politician came under heavy fire when photographs of her standing in the bed of a running pickup truck equipped with speakerphones and a large sign bearing her full name went viral on social media.
She was urging the public in the Lat Pla Khao area, her long-held political turf, to grow marigolds as a way of showing their respect for the late King, who passed away a year earlier on Oct 13, 2016.
However, critics found the potential candidate for the Pheu Thai leadership had overstepped the bounds.
They considered her activity inappropriate, with some accusing her of being an opportunist and engaging in a soft political campaign by canvassing ahead of the general election in November 2018.
Among her critics were Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
Khunying Sudarat quickly made a public apology -- but the damage was done.
According to party sources based in the capital, the veteran politician made a major blunder and all she could do was take the flak and hope it would not scar her politically for too long.
She is considered a potential candidate for the party's top post but some members who do not want to see this happen may use this issue to discredit her.
Like it or not, she has stirred the public interest. On the flip side, the criticism may spark interest in Khunying Sudarat even if in a negative way, according to party sources.
Even though the situation seems bad for Khunying Sudarat, the contest for the party leadership and the elections are months away. She still has a chance to make amends.
If she makes the right moves she may recoup her lost popularity, the sources said.
Compared with other potential candidates, Khunying Sudarat has a good profile. She also has the backing of Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, the ex-wife of the Pheu Thai's de-facto leader-in-exile, ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Those who do not support Khunying Sudarat are unlikely to challenge her if Thaksin supports her for the party leadership. Her biggest threat may come from a faction run by Yaowapha Wongsawat, Thaksin's younger sister.
Another party source is convinced Khunying Sudarat's career is finished based on the logic she cannot fight two battles -- within and outside the party -- at the same time and emerge unscathed.
"The pressure from party members is more than enough for her to cope with and now she faces public criticism as well," said the source, a former MP in the Northeast.
The same source said Thaksin will likely withdraw his support for Khunying Sudarat's bid to lead the party if the public pressure against her is calculated to be too high.
Following the blunder, several party members seem to be turning to another potential candidate, Chadchart Sittipunt, who is reeling from his own controversy.
The former transport minister caused an uproar in the Pheu Thai when his name came up as a member of one of the national strategy drafting committees appointed by the regime. Mr Chadchart later resigned from the panel to hold off the criticism.
Pheu Thai's Amnuay Khlangpha was confident the pickup truck blunder would not hurt Khunying Sudarat's chances of standing for the party leadership.
"She has no hidden agenda and everyone understands it. It won't affect her standing in the party," he insisted.
'Governator' spared wrath
It seems Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang has managed to escape harsh criticism from residents in the capital over the flooding that hit several parts of the city last Saturday.
Unlike his predecessor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, Pol Gen Aswin, instead of stoking city residents' anger further, stepped up and announced he would take sole responsibility for the flooding that caught city residents by surprise last Saturday morning.
It is normal for some city streets to become submerged after a few hours of rain in Thailand, but the scale of last weekend's floods was so large it took several hours before the water was drained. Heavy rains slammed Bangkok from late on Oct 13 until the following morning, with additional downpours appearing in the afternoon. As a result, 55 spots in the capital were flooded.
The heaviest deluge was recorded in Phra Nakhon, which received an average of 214.4mm of precipitation per hour, followed closely by Phasi Charoen (214mm/hour) and Bangkok Noi (208mm/hour).
Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang said the last time Bangkok faced levels in excess of 200mm/hour was in 1986 when Maj Gen Chamlong Srimuang was governor.
Pol Gen Aswin was appointed by the military regime last October to replace MR Sukhumbhand, who was also ousted from office by the regime following a series of scandals in his administration.
MR Sukhumbhand drew flak for telling people who complained about the floods to "go and live in the mountains".
Critics also raised doubts over the effectiveness of City Hall's giant tunnels, which are supposed to speed up the rate at which the water is drained after several key roads in the capital were repeatedly flooded following recent downpours.
The government has also managed to deflect criticism by sending troops to help ease the plight of city residents when floods hit the capital.
To mollify residents, Pol Gen Aswin has set up a public relations team to issue flood alerts and provide updates on flood relief and prevention measures, according to one source.
The source said a team of advisers to the governor suggested that whenever the city is hit by heavy rain and flooding, he should publicise as much information as possible about what relief measures are being taken, in a bid to "compete for media space".
This is meant as a "proactive" public relations campaign to cool down angry residents and shield him from criticism, the source said.
Instead, the finger of blame appears to be pointed at careless people in Bangkok who throw away masses garbage in public places -- which clogs drainage pipes and obstructs waterways.
Since assuming office, Pol Gen Aswin has been credited with restoring cleanliness and order to the city's messy pavements. A number of city streets have been improved, with tangles of electric wires on top of power poles relocated underground.
He has managed to keep his job and has been spared the wrath of city residents following the recent floods, but the absence of criticism does not translate as admiration and support, observers say.
If he wants to consider running again for the post of city governor, he must take action that is genuinely worthy of praise, critics add.
