Latest news with #RedShirts
Business Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Times
Thailand's most divisive family may have no more moves left
ONE man and his family have dominated Thailand's politics since the millennium. Billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra and his political dynasty have survived coups, corruption charges and constitutional court cases. This latest crisis may be harder to recover from. On Tuesday (Jul 1), Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin's youngest daughter, was temporarily suspended from office until the court rules on a petition seeking her ouster for alleged ethical violations, over the handling of a long-running border dispute with neighbour Cambodia. This adds another blow to the family's fortunes. Their name evokes strong feelings among Thailand's 70 million people, ranging from loyalty to hatred. How they manage this episode will determine whether the clan remains a significant player in South-east Asia's second-largest economy. The immediate source of the latest public anger is a leaked Jun 15 phone call between 38-year-old Paetongtarn and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen over which government controls certain areas of their shared border. In the audio, she appeared to criticise a powerful Thai army commander, considered out of bounds in a nation where the military has significant clout. It prompted fury among nationalists. Despite an apology, demonstrators have called for her to step down and accused her of selling out the country. The ire reflects the antipathy many feel towards Thaksin, whose struggle with the traditional elites over more than two decades has repeatedly thrown Thailand into chaos. A one-time policeman who made a fortune in IT and telecoms, he was viewed by them as a brash upstart when he entered politics in the 1990s. By the time he was ousted from the premiership in 2006, politics in Thailand were never really the same. In subsequent years, I covered demonstrations by royalist 'Yellow Shirts' who at times clashed with pro-Thaksin 'Red Shirts.' They wanted the Shinawatras out for good, claiming they were corrupt and abused their power – allegations the family has denied. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Fast-forward two decades and the Shinawatras are still here and this most recent chapter in the clan's saga is eroding investor confidence again. Prospects were already looking weak due to US President Donald Trump's widespread tariffs, a fall-off in visitors for the important tourism industry since February, and limited fiscal space for countermeasures. Bloomberg Economics expects growth to slow to about 1.6 per cent this year, down from an expansion of 2.5 per cent in 2024. Paetongtarn is viewed as a proxy for her father, much like her aunt, Yingluck, prime minister from 2011 until a court ruling forced her out of office in 2014. Her government exists only because of an unlikely alliance between Thaksin and his former foes in the prominent royalist-military establishment, notes Susannah Patton of the Sydney-based think tank Lowy Institute. The Shinawatra dynasty owes its longevity to to Thaksin's strategic politicking and allure. Loved by the working class because of his populist policies, he's a feted but polarising figure. In a recent survey, the former media tycoon was voted the most influential person in Thai politics. He first became prime minister in 2001; his second term was cut short by a military coup in 2006. In 2023, Thaksin came home after more than a decade of self-imposed exile. His return helped broker a marriage of convenience between his Pheu Thai Party and former rivals, aimed at blocking the progressive Move Forward Party from power despite its popularity. The youth-oriented party campaigned against military rule and advocated for changes to a law forbidding criticism of the monarchy. Paetongtarn appeared to renew her family's political fortunes when she became prime minister last August, after her predecessor was ousted by a court over ethics violations. But that power is now again at risk. An opinion poll conducted in June by the National Institute of Development Administration showed that an overwhelming majority of Thais are dissatisfied with the young leader and her government's performance. The Constitutional Court's decision will only increase pressure on a family that has long called the shots. Concerns are rising the military could stage another coup – not unthinkable, given the nation's history. Thailand is the only middle or high-middle income country that continues to have regular coups, the Council on Foreign Relations notes. It had 22 attempts since the end of the absolute monarchy in the 1930s; 13 of those were successful. For all the division they represent, the Shinawatras continue to be integral to Thailand's story – and will be as long as the 75-year-old patriarch can still make a deal. Any threat to their power is a catalyst for uncertainty. BLOOMBERG
The Independent
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Netflix series 'The Leopard' remakes the classic Italian novel as a sumptuous period drama
'The Leopard,' a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them. Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie 'The Leopard,' directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes. One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking 'Gone with the Wind' and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated. He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family. The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily. His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy. The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats. Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes. He has taken advantage of drone technology to show the family traveling in coaches across the Sicilian countryside or soldiers marching through Palermo. The series was filmed in magnificent palaces in the Sicilian cities of Palermo, Siracusa and Catania. The famed ballroom scene where the prince dances the waltz with Angelica was in the ballroom at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Rome. The prince has taken under his wing his beloved orphaned nephew, Tancredi, who stuns the family by joining Garibaldi's men known as the Red Shirts. Italian actor Saul Nanni takes on the role once played by Delon. He said that he was honored to play such an 'iconic character' and be able to follow in the footsteps of such an 'amazing' actor as Delon. Tancredi seems set to woo and perhaps marry the prince's beloved eldest daughter, Concetta, which would bring him officially into the noble family and protect the line. But the stunningly beautiful Angelica, the daughter of the newly rich mayor of Donnafugata, the town where the family resides in the summer, changes everything. Angelica is played by Deva Cassel, a model in addition to being an actor, and daughter of Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel. 'It was a real honor for me to be able to step into the shoes of Claudia Cardinale, who is such a magnificent actress, who is unreachable, untouchable,' Cassel said. 'But it was really great to be able to experience such a big set. It was my second project, so it was very stressful to take on such a huge responsibility.' Angelica and the prince's daughter, Concetta, played by Benedetta Porcaroli, flounce through the scenes in lavish costumes, dresses with tight bodices and large skirts with cage crinolines. Cassel noted the sharp contrast with modern clothing that 'adapts to our own body shape.' She said that squeezing herself into the bodices with tiny waists in the heat of Sicily changed her physically. 'I saw some modifications after six months of shooting,' Cassel said. 'I think I lost about two centimeters on my waist because of the heat, and because of it being a very tight space.' But she learned a new skill: 'How to best dance with these clothes that control your body.' The book, film and now series, which debuts on March 5 on Netflix, focus on the struggle of the prince with the societal changes and his realization that he is losing political and personal power. 'That is the thing that probably touched me the most,' said Kim Rossi Stuart, who perfectly slipped into the role, helped by his natural height and elegance. 'It is the condition of his character, specifically the sensation of being at the end of an era, but also of his own lifetime."
