POWERFUL COURTS, RATTLED MARKETS
“The political parties and representatives that voters have chosen are being systematically and repeatedly stymied,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters.
A single petition can bring down a sitting, elected government or oust a prime minister, he said, outlining the power of the country’s courts.
“There’s a judicial assertiveness that has been damaging to Thailand, subverting popular will and popular mandates.”
Such tensions have previously triggered violent street protests, dissolutions of political parties, airport closures and military coups that have hamstrung the economy.
Thai stock markets have already been rattled by the spectre of a political crisis. The main stock index dropped to its lowest level since November 2020 on Monday, and has fallen 8.4 per cent so far this year, making it Asia’s worst-performing market.
