Thread by @zenjournalist

Hashtags #RIPPrayuth and #ผนงรจตกม are trending on Thai Twitter due to the prime minister’s dreadful handling of the Korat massacre. But Prayut will hang on a few years more before the regime replaces him. 1/5

Although he is prime minister, Prayut is just a puppet of the royalist military regime that really runs Thailand, with most major decisions made in Germany by the king and his inner circle. Prayut is just a figurehead to give the illusion of democracy and hide the reality. 2/5

Army chief Apirat Kongsompong retires later this year and is Vajiralongkorn’s current choice to be the next prime minister. But according to the constitution he’d have to wait two years after retirement before he’d be eligible, in October 2022. 3/5

So the regime will probably keep Prayut in place until late 2022 or early 2023 before engineering a way to get rid of him and instal Apirat. And because of the votes of the Senate, the regime choice will always be PM regardless of election results. 4/5

This is the reality of Thailand’s fake democracy — the country is run from Germany, the prime minister is a puppet, and the regime has rigged the system so it can never lose. 5/5