In what appears to be a lightning move, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha early this week handpicked Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, secretary of the PM's Office minister, as a new government spokesman, replacing Anucha Burapachaisri.
Mr Thanakorn, who is spokesman for the Palang Pracharath Party and also a unit under the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, is better known for his role as self-proclaimed guard for the PM. He has also been a long-term candidate for the position, despite losing out to Mr Anucha in 2020.
Previously, observers noted that Mr Thanakorn was deemed too belligerent due to his outspokenness. He was often ready to confront government critics and opponents, while his soft-spoken predecessor was perceived as more appropriate for the job at the time.
Yet Gen Prayut believes he needs a change and, according to a source, Mr Thanakorn seems to have got what he wants. The latter is able to respond well to questions about both political and economic issues, which could improve the government's ability to communicate with the public.
The new spokesman's appointment follows the naming of two communication experts, namely Seree Wongmontha and Kasemsan Veerakul, as strategists to a centre for improving information flow.
This reflects Gen Prayut's determination to ramp up communication. Indeed, the PM needs to fix his government's bruised image following its poor performance in containing the pandemic and perceived mishandling of political conflicts, be they violent street protests or charter amendment hiccups.
Recently, there have been reports that Gen Prayut expressed frustration with some state agencies, alleging that several of them were "not doing enough" in helping the government communicate with an increasingly confused public. He even challenged those unwilling to pitch in and improve matters to leave and he was ready to "fight alone."
What the PM and his newly appointed spokesman should understand is that public communications are different from public relations. To begin with, it would be wrong to say that all the problems it faces are PR issues, or brand any criticism towards them as misinformation or politically motivated.
Such excuses will only lead the government nowhere. Moreover, the government's performance is not flawless, and all the problems it has cannot be solved by public relations stunts.
Take the vaccine issue as an example. How can the government make people understand why it is giving priority to the Sinovac vaccine despite questions about its efficacy from the beginning?
The government, particularly the Public Health Ministry, is unable to provide a convincing explanation on why we still need more Sinovac shots. On top of that, it's well known that the Covid-19 crisis was worsened by the delayed vaccination campaign and red tape. We saw a slow response to the crisis despite being under an emergency decree, which should have allowed a quick reaction. Yet this did not occur and no one has been held responsible. If the PM thinks intensifying a PR campaign will boost public perceptions about how the government has handled matters, he is wrong.
While Mr Thanakorn can secure the PM's trust with his belligerence, it is not certain such a skill will be useful given the country's situation, particularly on the political front, where things are heating up ahead of a no-confidence debate. Sooner rather than later, the new spokesman, as well as the prime minister, will realise that aggression may just backfire.
