Thailand needs to break free from its political doom loopBy Karishma Vaswani / Bloomberg OpinionThailand is falling behind its peers in Asia — and today’s election is unlikely to stop that slide. Thailand has been shaped by a tug-of-war between parties tied to the conservative royalist-military nexus, and those that challenge them. The nation of about 70 million must find a way to break out of this doom loop. Pheu Thai, the populist party aligned with former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is also competing. A political system that repeatedly produces fragile governments, invites judicial intervention and rewards short-term coalition bargaining is ill-equipped to deliver the sustained reform Thailand needs.

Source: Taipei Times February 07, 2026 16:10 UTC