On Tuesday, Thailand’s wealthy former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced he would return home in July after 17 years in exile, days before his party will likely win an election.
Thaksin, Thailand’s most powerful and unpopular former leader, has often promised to return, but his Twitter comments were the first time he had specified a timeline.
I’m requesting again. “I will visit my grandchildren in July before my birthday,” he remarked.
“I want permission,” he said, without specifying who. “I haven’t seen my family in 17 years. I’m old.
The 73-year-old former police colonel and telecoms magnate has loomed big over Thai politics since his 2006 coup and 2008 exile to avoid prosecution for abuse of power, an allegation he claims was politically motivated.
Pheu Thai, controlled by his family and corporate cronies, leads public surveys ahead of the May 14 vote, as its predecessors did before winning every election since 2001.
The latest polls show the government, a military-backed alliance, is significantly behind Pheu Thai and Move Forward.
Paetongtarn, 36, Thaksin’s youngest daughter and a Pheu Thai prime ministerial contender, had her second child last week.
Thaksin tweeted that he would not “be a burden to Pheu Thai” and would return legally. No details.
A government spokeswoman did not immediately address Thaksin’s homecoming.
Thaksin spent much of his exile in Dubai or London, where he famously bought Manchester City in 2007.
His early investments helped a struggling team win six league titles under new owners.
Thaksin used populist methods to win over millions of disaffected working-class people as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.
However, Thailand’s most powerful families and institutions, including the military, hate his family and business clique.
