Many 'red shirts' switch to 'orange' amid doubts over Thaksin's moves

With questions over Pheu Thai's political orientation, they back the progressive People's Party

- Tan Hui Yee

CHIANG MAI – Ms Podjanin Towatrakool used to adore Thaksin Shinawatra so much that she travelled from Thailand to the United Arab Emirates on her own dime to see the former prime minister while he was living there in self-exile.

Bearing a banner and other gifts from Thaksin fans who could not make a similar trip, the housewife from northern Chiang Mai province – now 60 years old – cried upon seeing her idol in 2009 and called the now 75-year-old man “father”.

After returning from Dubai, she covered an entire wall in her home with pictures of the billionaire. She attended pro-democracy rallies organised by the “red shirt” groups associated with Thaksin and his Pheu Thai Party.

These days, however, she refuses to be seen at public gatherings where he is the guest of honour. Thaksin is no longer a fugitive, having returned to Thailand in August 2023 via what is widely thought to be a political deal under which Pheu Thai ditched the election-winning Move Forward Party (MFP) to form a government with conservative factions that had long persecuted the red shirts.

Although detained over previous convictions upon his return, Thaksin spent most of his time in hospital before he was released on parole. His 38-year-old daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra is now the prime minister of Thailand. But he is thought to be the real power behind the scenes.

These developments have shaken Ms Podjanin’s faith to the core.

“I am willing to meet Thaksin in private, but I don’t want to be seen in public as a supporter of Thaksin or Pheu Thai,” Ms Podjanin told The Straits Times. “This is because I stand fully behind ‘orange’.”