In this April 10 photo, Gen Prem Tinsulanonda gestures as he talks to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Across political divisions and demographic lines and over decades of change in Thailand's socio-economic and political fortunes, Gen Prem's legacy is certainly mixed. But Gen Prem held sway, even from his sick bed. Unlike Gen Prem, Gen Prayut initially appointed technocrats, but he has allowed them to be politicised. The penultimate lesson for Gen Prem's army successors currently in power should be the twin compromises he ushered in when Thailand desperately needed them.

Source: Bangkok Post May 30, 2019 23:15 UTC