Northern Thailand - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 947

UNDERSTAND THAILAND
TOP OF CHAPTER
Thailand Today
Smartphones everywhere, cars instead of motorcycles and the need for immigrant labour -
there is no doubt about it, Thailand is getting richer. In 2011, the World Bank upgraded the
country's category from a lower-middle economy to an upper-middle income economy, a
designation based on per capita gross national income (GNI). In 2012, Thailand's GNI was
US$5210, more than double what it was a decade ago.
Yet cyclical political instability remains a lingering and legitimate threat to Thailand's
economic success. Following the 2006 coup d'état (the 18th in 70 years), which ousted
then Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, there have been six prime ministers and an in-
creasing sense of social division in Thai society.
Much of this is due to the sometimes violent protests by the Yellow Shirts, made up of
the educated elite aligned with the monarchy and the military, and the Red Shirts, com-
prised of the predominantly rural-based supporters of the exiled prime minister. In 2008,
Yellow Shirt protestors shut down the country's major international airports for two weeks,
and in 2010, opposition Red Shirt protestors staged a two-month siege of Bangkok's central
shopping district that ended in violent clashes with the military. In late 2013 and early
2014, tensions flared yet again when Yellow Shirt protestors took to Bangkok's streets, tak-
ing over key parts of town and blocking parliamentary elections in an effort to force the
Thaksin-linked government to stand down.
Thais in the political middle are fatigued from the political discord, which undermines a
deep-seated sense of a unified 'Thai-ness' and a cultural aversion to displays of violence
and anger. Many also resent the perceived stress upon whom the political bickering and so-
cietal division have burdened their beloved monarch, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Now 86 years
old, he is the world's longest-serving king and is essentially worshipped by his subjects.
But as his health has declined, his role in the society at large has diminished. He has been
hospitalised since September 2009 and his public appearances are so rare that they make
laudatory coverage in Thai national news.
Losing the king will be a national tragedy: he has ruled for more than 60 years and
defined through his life what many regard as the modern Thai man (educated, philanthropic