Thaksin makes 'bad exes' list

The bad ex-PM and the current bad PM? (Photo: Reuters)

11/10/2010
Bangkok Post

US magazine Foreign Policy has listed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra among a group of "Bad Exes" - former government leaders known internationally for scandals ranging from policy blunders to corruption.

Thaksin has been placed in the same league as former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, Nigeria's ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo and former Philippine leader Joseph Estrada.

"Most ex-presidents and former prime ministers devote their lives to making a positive difference in the world, or at least fade away into obscurity. Here are five former leaders who have done neither," wrote Joshua EKeating, the author of the piece, which is on the magazine's website.

"Since being deposed in a 2006 coup amid allegations of graft and human rights abuses, Thaksin has lived a peripatetic existence. The former billionaire businessman has served as a 'special ambassador' for Nicaragua and an economic adviser in Cambodia, and was briefly owner of the Manchester City soccer club.

"Thaksin reportedly lived under a false name in Germany for more than a year and has used illegally received passports from a number of other countries as well. He now makes his home in Dubai," Mr Keating wrote.

The article also cited Thaksin's links to the anti-government protest in Bangkok earlier this year when supporters of the former prime minister occupied the central area of the capital in an effort to force the government to step down.

Ninety-two people were killed in the ensuing clashes between protesters and security forces during the violence. Most of those killed were protesters.

Although Thaksin was vocally supportive of the red shirts, he has denied funding the movement.

The article pointed out, however, that he had once called a rally and promised "to make all Thais rich" if his proxies regained political power.

Since the red shirts' dispersal, Thaksin has cut back on his media appearances and political activities. In August, he gave up his position with the Cambodian government, helping ease relations between the two countries, according to the article.