Banharn’s path from local ‘influential person’ to Prime Minister

An academic has claimed that the network monarchy in Thailand played a role in the political success of Banharn Silpa-archa, the former Prime Minister who passed away recently. A politician adds that his non-confrontational strategy enabled his party to align with any government.

Banharn Silpa-archa, the 21st Prime Minister of Thailand, passed away on 23 April 2016, at the age of 83. He began his political career as a local ‘influential person’ in the central province of Suphanburi. He was looked down by the Bangkok elite as a rural politician who was interested only in benefits for his hometown. As a result of his long career in parliament, he changed Suphanburi from a backward province into one of the most developed in the region.  
 
In commemoration of his death, on Tuesday, 10 May 2016,  the Department of Government, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, hosted a seminar on ‘Thailand in the Post-Banharn Era’. An academic pointed that one of the main factors leading to Banharn’s political success was the network monarchy. 
 
 
 
Banharn Silapa-achar (source: Wikipedia)
 
Yoshinori Nishizaki, a political scientist from the National University of Singapore, said that Banharn used the network monarchy to gain popularity and political opportunities. After success in business in his home town and then in Bangkok, Banharn donated a large amount of money to the Village Scouts, a right-wing movement supported by the network monarchy. This created a relationship between him and the network.
 
He also donated money to build many roads, hospitals and schools in Suphanburi and a royal family member usually presided at the opening ceremonies. This could be seen as a sign of closeness between him and the monarchy. As a result, local people supported him and perceived him as a billionaire who was loyal to the monarchy and who loved his hometown, said Yoshinori.  
 
 
King Bhumibol and queen Sirikit at the opening ceremony of 3rd Banharn-Jamsai school (source: ASTV Manager Online)
 
The network monarchy is a concept introduced by Duncan McCargo, a professor at Leeds University, to explain how the monarchy plays a role in Thai society through informal mechanisms. McCargo believes that the network did not like Banharn but Yoshinori refutes this. According to his study, Banharn actually had a strong relationship with the network. 
 
Yoshinori’s point was supported by Nikorn Jumnong, a politician from the Chart Thai Pattana (CPT) Party, who told the seminar that every time the King assigned Banharn any task, either formal or informal, he would be always very active on it. 
 
Apart from the network monarchy, Nikorn added that his political tactics also played a big role in his success. The principle that Banharn and his party always followed was to ‘be friends with everyone’ and he believed that, with this principle, the CTP will survive the death of Banharn. 
 
“Thai politics in the past decade has been in heat. If anyone’s looking for a cool place to rest, come to our home, the CTP Party. It’s the coolest place since we don’t confront any side,” said Nikorn.
 
However, Yoshinori sees it differently. He said that fragmentation within the CTP will significantly increase because previously, the CTP always ran under Banharn’s strong leadership. Right now, there is no one who is strong enough to unify the party as Banharn did. 
 
Banharn was a rare thing among Thai Prime Ministers: his background is local influence peddling, while most have been from the political elite, bureaucracy or military. Even though most Bangkok people looked down at him and gave him various nicknames such as Mr ATM for his financial scandals, his unforgettable contribution to Thai politics is the draft of 1997 Constitution, arguably the most democratic charter of Thailand. 
 
“The most memorable role of Banharn then is that he initiated the draft process of 1997 Constitution which many people think that it is the most democratic constitution of Thailand,” Siriphan Nogsuan Sawasdee, a political scientist from Chulalongkorn University, said in the opening speech of the seminar. 
 
 
The panellists at the seminar. From left to right, Yoshinori Nishizaki, Pitch Pongsawat (moderator), Viengrat Nethipo, Suchai Treerat and Nikorn Jumnong (Photographer: Kan Sangtong)

 

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