Doubts raised about Thai succession
Print Edition
THAILAND is seeking to dispel any concerns about a succession after Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn said he would delay taking the throne while he mourns his father. The government said yesterday it was working as normal.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej died last Thursday after seven decades on the throne. He was 88.
The prospect of complications in the succession could alarm financial markets, but the government has been quick to quash any such speculation.
The crown prince has requested his succession be delayed for an unspecified period, so he can grieve with the people, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said.
The government has not set a date for the royal cremation but a deputy prime minister said the prince had asked it be held after a year of mourning, and the coronation would take place after the cremation.
The formal procedure for him to become king, which involves the president of the legislature inviting him to ascend the throne, can happen at any time before his coronation.
In the meantime, the head of the royal advisory council, a 96-year-old former army chief and prime minister, Prem Tinsulanonda, will stand in as regent.
A semi-official biography of King Bhumibol has a short section on Prem, noting that he was accused of involvement in a 2006 coup that removed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power.
On Saturday, the prince held an audience with Prem and Prayuth and asked them to pass on his reassurance to the people, Prayuth said in a televised address.
“He asked the people not to be confused or worry about the country’s administration or even about the succession,” Prayuth said. “He said at this time everyone is sad, he is still sad, so every side should wait until we pass this sad time. When the religious ceremony and funeral have passed for a while, then it will be an appropriate time to proceed.”
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told reporters that the prime minister wanted to reassure the public about the government’s work and a cabinet meeting would go ahead as normal tomorrow so administration “can continue seamlessly.”
King Bhumibol, who was the world’s longest-reigning monarch, was revered as a father figure and symbol of unity in the country riven.
Many Thais worry about a future without him.
Prince Vajiralongkorn does not enjoy the same adoration his father earned over a lifetime on the throne. He has married and divorced three times, and has spent much of his life outside Thailand, often in Germany.
Though the king designated his only son crown prince in 1972, shortly afterwards he also raised the possibility of the eligibility of a princess becoming the monarch.
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