Thai princess becomes first royal ever to run for prime minister
Source: Axios
A party official told reporters Thursday that Thai princess Ubolratana Rajakanya will run for prime minister, a shocking development that could force the ruling military junta out of power after the March 24 election, the South China Morning Post reports.
Why it matters: A royal has never run for Thailand's highest political office. Rajakanya will be as the nominee for the Thai Raksa Chart party, which is aligned with two of the country's exiled former prime ministers. Thailand's "lèse majesté" laws make it illegal to "defame, insult, or threaten" a royal, which could hinder opposing parties' ability to campaign against the princess.
Cornell professor and Brookings fellow Tom Pepinsky notes on Twitter: "There are very few true Holy Shit moments in politics. This is one. Take Brexit and Trump, multiply them by 1000, and you’re still nowhere near it"
Read more: https://www.axios.com/thai-princess-becomes-first-royal-ever-to-run-1549596964-8a9fc11b-c5da-4397-8ddb-8b04cc09d91f.html
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Source: BBC
9 February 2019
The party that nominated a Thai princess to run for prime minister has said it will comply with the king's wishes after he opposed the move.
Thai Raksa Chart is allied to divisive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
On Friday, King Vajiralongkorn denounced his sister Princess Ubolratana Mahidol's unprecedented bid for political power as inappropriate.
The candidacy would have broken with the tradition of the Thai royal family publicly staying out of politics.
The party said it complied "with the royal command with loyalty to the king and all members of the royal family".
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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47182561
Princess Ubolratana has not addressed the issue of the ban directly
