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Published on September 28, 2007

Council for National Security (CNS) chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin must draw a lesson from the mistakes of former coup-makers who came to power exactly the way he has done. Many were seduced by the trappings of power, overstayed their welcome and were forced to make disgraceful exits from politics. All coup-makers came to power promising to clean up dirty politics, to rebuild democracy and then leave the scene. In this country, military take-overs are considered justified when civilian governments become obviously corrupt. The Thaksin administration, embroiled in numerous corruption scandals during its five and a half years in power, was a case in point. This justification is based on the assumption that the military has always been a force for good; that it serves as a faithful guardian of the nation, religion and the monarchy. But such military prerogative is questionable because it is based on the assumption that the military itself is incorruptible.

There is no evidence to support the idea that the armed forces are incorruptible. On the contrary, the military has proved to be as susceptible to corruption as any other agency within the state apparatus. Perhaps that explains why most coup-makers, wielding absolute power, end up being absolutely corrupted. That's why they want to cling on to power, one way or another, to protect themselves against their political enemies. Or perhaps they were persuaded into believing they were indispensable players in national politics and became enamoured with the grandiose image of themselves. It remains to be seen to which category Sonthi belongs.

Sonthi, who, as the Army chief, reaches the mandatory retirement age of 60 at the end of this month, has already made clear that he is prepared to take any Cabinet position in the interim government if Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont offers to take him in. Sonthi and Surayud must have reached an understanding regarding the former's entry into politics.

The most likely position on offer is deputy prime minister responsible for national security and/or interior minister who plays an important role in organising the general election.

Sonthi will also retain his all-powerful position as CNS chairman until the newly-elected civilian government emerges in December.

If Surayud makes the offer, as he is expected to, Sonthi's short stint in the interim government, which will remain in office for a few more months, is expected to prepare him for a key role in post-election politics. Taking a key Cabinet position will also ensure the continuity of his political clout when he steps down as Army chief.

If Sonthi does take up a position in the Surayud Cabinet it will create an awkward situation. On the one hand he is supposed to be a subordinate of the prime minister, whom he installed right after the coup last year, and on the other, as CNS chairman he has the power to hire and fire the prime minister.

But confusion in the chain of command is nothing compared with the possible public backlash. Many pro-democracy groups and the public at large, particularly members of the powerful urban middle class, are getting suspicious of Sonthi and the military's intentions. Their worst fear is that the military intends to dominate Thai politics by giving back only a half-measure democracy and will continue to pull strings from behind the scenes. If the Cabinet position is offered to Sonthi, the Surayud government will be seen as a partner in the conspiracy to perpetuate the military's domination of politics.

That could be a dangerous move. No one can tell if the middle class - which has so far acquiesced to military rule as a necessary evil - will continue to accept the military's dominant role for much longer.

Shortly after kicking out the Thaksin government, Sonthi assigned lucrative, high-paid jobs to senior military officers as chairmen or directors on the boards of state enterprises.

Sonthi and other military leaders have been taking democracy-loving Thais for granted, and their actions are beginning to expose them as self-serving and power-hungry - not unlike the civilian despot they overthrew. A short stint in the interim government may serve as a springboard for Sonthi into an uncertain future fraught with dangers. A more honourable alternative is for him to bow out gracefully.