In most countries, the death of a monarch, albeit a sad and somber occasion, is a relatively insignificant event in terms of political stability.
That is not the case in Thailand, a nation that has known far too many military dictators and political coups over the last 70 years, despite its claim of never having been colonized.
And while the Oct. 13 death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej was long anticipated, it still came as a shock and serious blow to the Thai people, not only emotionally, but also politically.
After seven decades of Bhumibol’s steadfast efforts to unite the nation through religious devotion and progressive political reforms (albeit without much regard for the preservation of democratic values), Thailand’s economy was visibly shaken by the king’s demise, with the stock market fluctuating dramatically as uncertain investors began pulling their capital.
And despite a rather heavy-handed approach to royal critics (the country enacted a strict lèse-majesté law a decade after Bhumibol took the throne in 1946), the king did stimulate his countrymen to revamp their economy by inspiring confidence, thus transforming a poor, rural nation into Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
By all accounts, Bhumibol loved his people, and that feeling was very much reciprocated by nearly all Thailand’s people, particularly the poor, who he championed with a seemingly endless flow of education and development projects.
For many Thais, the king was a father figure, a role model and a symbol of stability and calm.
The streets of Bangkok might have been blocked with riots for months on end in late 2013 and early 2014, but the Thai people had their king, a pillar of tranquility and dependability, to shepherd them through those trying political times.
But now the king is dead, and with a playboy heir, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, seen more as a buffoon than a paragon, the country’s mast is teetering.
Moreover, it will be a while before Maha takes the throne, since he needs time to mourn his father.
In the meanwhile, a regent government will manage the royal palace, led by former Thai Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda, who is much disliked by the nation’s poor.
Having approved a new constitution in August (under the watchful eyes of a military junta), Thailand is set to hold elections next year.
The void created by Bhumibol’s death does not provide a very reassuring political landscape for those elections.
Now, there is a very real chance that the country might regress into a chaotic tug of war between corrupt generals and extremist factions.
The Thai king is dead, but let us hope that his legacy is not.
Thérèse Margolis can be reached at [email protected].
