What do you think are the prospects for the succession?
The succession right now is pretty clear that the King’s only son, Prince Vajiralongkorn, will become the next king. There is always talk that there is opposition to him, and it’s true that there are a lot of people who don’t like him. There are a lot of very senior and powerful people [who don’t like him], but really they don’t have a choice.
In the past, many thought his sister, Princess Sirindhorn, could actually become the sovereign queen or the ruler instead of the prince, but, legally, the prince has the first right to it, and all the preparations we see are that the prince will become the king. At the same time, the Princess Sirindhorn, is less able to do the job probably because she is 60 or 61 years old, she’s single, doesn’t have children. And an important part of being king is to create a next generation of royals to fill the palace, and the only one who has done that is Prince Vajiralongkorn. He has several sons and daughters, and so, he is sort of in control of the next generation of royalty. Even if Princess Sirindhorn was made a reigning queen, she wouldn’t have power over the next generation compared to her brother. So, you see there is a problem there. And again I go back—all the intentions shown by the Thai government and the monarchy are that Prince Vajiralongkorn will be the next King, and I don’t think there is any questions about that anymore.