Sukhumbhand to Step in Again?

(photo credit: central_vietnam on Flickr)

The Nation reports:

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra has vowed to mediate any peace effort between the government and Thaksin Shinawatra if his Democrat Party would allow him to do that.

The only man on the government side who has met Thaksin lately, Sukhumbhand told The Nation in an exclusive interview that reconciliation depends as much on the Thaksin camp as on the Abhisit administration’s efforts.

The keywords are “if his Democrat Party would allow him to do that”. It does not seem likely that this government will enter into talks with a man it brands a terrorist.  It appears that, over the last four or five months, Sukhumbhand has been something of an outcast among the Democrats. When it was revealed that for a while he conducted secret negotiations with key red-shirt figures, virtually no one in his party came out to support what the Bangkok governor was doing.

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3. The Economist: Collapse of Talks Was ‘Tragic’
4. “When Abhisit Looks in the Mirror, He Will See Thaksin.”
5. Former Democrat Leader: “I Would Give This Government 5 out of 10.”