Thailand's divisive ex-PM is out of jail, but is the Thaksin era over?
Key takeaways
- His party Pheu Thai's insistence that from now on he will remain in the background could not stop feverish media speculation over what role he might still play in Thai politics.
- From the moment he swept to power in January 2001 Thaksin, a brash, self-made billionaire, has sought to reshape his country, winning devoted supporters and bitter opponents in equal measure.
- He continued to run his party from abroad, and, after an apparent 'grand bargain', his conservative opponents allowed him to come home in 2023, to direct it once it was back in government again.
Why this matters: a developing story that could shape the day's news cycle.
Jonathan Head South East Asia correspondent, Bangkok Watch: Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra released from prison For a man who spent most of the past 20 years in exile, and the past eight months in jail, the figure of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra still looms large over Thailand.
His release from prison in Bangkok, at the age of 76 and wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, after serving part of a one-year sentence for corruption and abuses of power during his terms as prime minister from 2001 to 2006, was headline news in Thailand.
His party Pheu Thai's insistence that from now on he will remain in the background could not stop feverish media speculation over what role he might still play in Thai politics.