จาก USA TODAY [31 May 2014]: "Then there's Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire media mogul who was prime minister of Thailand. Shinawatra now lives in exile to avoid corruption charges in Thailand. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was recently ousted as prime minister. As with Berlusconi, supporters of Thaksin (known as "red shirts") say he's been unfairly demonized by his political opponents.
But a Thai court ruled that $1.4 billion of Thaksin's fortune was gained illegally while he was prime minister. And the fact that Thailand is now being ruled by a military coup, with its economy faltering, suggests that Thaksin did little to improve the foundations of democracy or the economy in the country.