On the face of it, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for eight years, has touted himself as "an outsider" who was above the political fray, seizing power in a military coup and taking top office to help Thailand in its hour of need amid debilitating protests and polarisation in 2013-14. Now that the general has thrown his hat in the ring under the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party locally known as "Ruam Thai Sang Chart" to contest the upcoming election, the charade is over.

Gen Prayut has been part and parcel of the royalist-conservative movement behind the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) to take over government from the outset.

www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2492254/thailands-political-charade-exposed