|
Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party ((タイ語:พรรคชาติไทย), ) was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and the Matchima party, for having violated electoral laws in the Thai general election, 2007. Thereafter, most MPs founded the Chartthaipattana Party (Thai Nation Development Party), which became the Thai Nation Party's successor. ==Foundation, electoral successes, and government== The Thai Nation Party was founded in 1974 by Chatichai Choonhavan, son of Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan, and his in-laws Pramarn Adireksarn and Siri Siriyothin, who were at the time major-generals like him. The three belonged to the "Rajakru clan", a military, economic and political interest group established by Field Marshal Phin. The party represented the rightist and pro-military wing of Thai politics during the relatively liberal and democratic years from 1973 to 1976.〔 During the campaign for the election in April 1976, the party called for “the Right to kill the Left”, and party chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Pramarn declared in a cabinet meeting on October 6, 1976 that it was the right moment to destroy the student movement, which was eventually executed in the Thammasat University massacre. In the subsequent elections 1976, 1979, 1983 and 1986, the party consistently was the second-strongest party. During the 1980s, the party deideologized itself. It was a "government party" that tried to be part of the ruling coalition at any rate.〔 Only between 1983 and 1986 it was the main parliamentary opposition. According to then-secretary general Banharn Silpa-archa, "for a politician, being in opposition is like starving yourself to death." In the general election of 1988, the Thai Nation Party won the most votes, resulting in its leader Chatichai Choonhavan becoming the prime minister. Chatichai was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Thailand in over a decade.〔(Background Note: Thailand ), Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, retrieved on 26 January 2012〕 Chatichai's government became known as the "buffet cabinet" for its members scrambling overtly over the distribution of public funds. The Thai Nation Party advocated a reinforcement of the role of Parliament, in which many businessmen from the province were represented who had gained wealth and growing political ambitions, vis-à-vis the traditionally powerful, but not democratically legitimised administration. Chatichai's government was deposed by a military coup d'état in 1991. The putschists accused the Prime Minister and several other members of the cabinet of having acquired "unusual wealth". After the March 1992 general election, the Thai Nation Party — now led by Air Chief Marshal Somboon Rahong — joined a military-sponsored coalition led by the Justice Unity Party ''(Samakkhi Tham)'', under coup leader General Suchinda Kraprayoon. During the street protests and bloody crackdown of Black May 1992, it was therefore considered one of the "devil parties". One of the party's factions rejected this alliance and left the party to found the National Development Party ''(Chart Pattana)''. It was led by former Thai Nation leader and Prime Minister Chatichai. After return to democracy in 1992, the Thai Nation Party became the main opposition force against the Democrat-led government of Chuan Leekpai. In a 1993 representative survey, 50% of the respondents identified the Thai Nation Party as the most corrupt of the country. In 1994 Banharn Silpa-archa, a billionaire construction building contractor and "godfather of Suphanburi", became the party's chairman. The party won the 1995 elections that were heavily tainted with vote-buying. Banharn became Prime Minister,〔 but his government coalition broke as early as in November 1996. After new elections, Chart Thai was in opposition against the short-lived government of Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. In November 1997, it joined a seven-party coalition supporting Democrat Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thai Nation Party」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|