There are many ways of looking at the recently-concluded elections in Thailand. One could easily call it historic — it has given Thailand its first woman prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. It has been participative and decisive, giving the Puea Thai Party a landslide victory that puts an end to the Democrat Party regime of Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose claim to power rested on a controversial parliamentary vote in 2008 rather than on a popular mandate. But one would think twice before announcing that this democratic exercise necessarily indicates a triumph of democracy in Thailand. There can be little doubt that through the victory of Ms Shinawatra, the sister of the exiled former Thai premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, the latter has finally managed to establish a rule by proxy. The Puea Thai Party, and Ms Shinawatra herself, had made no bones about this while weaving the entire poll campaign around the “Thaksin thinks, we act” slogan. The elections, therefore, were not so much a comment on Ms Shinawatra’s abilities to lead the nation vis-à-vis those of the incumbent prime minister, Mr Vejjajiva. They were a continuation of a larger battle between two opposing power blocks — that of Mr Shinawatra and the older Thai establishment — both of which have tried to strengthen their hold on power in the name of democracy. That Ms Shinawatra’s party has come up trumps indicates that despite the combined efforts of Thailand’s elite groups, Mr Shinawatra’s influence has not waned. In fact, the political tussle has intensified Mr Shinawatra’s hold on the public imagination as the best possible alternative to a political hierarchy that has prioritized the concerns of the moneyed over those of the poor.

Ms Shinawatra has come to power riding on this hope for change. Her party has stoked these hopes by its promise of freebies, a continuation of Mr Shinawatra’s pro-poor policies, and by its thoughts on ‘reconciliation’ with political adversaries that would bring down violence on the streets. But much of Ms Shinawatra’s efficiency would depend on her management of the army, which has brought previous elections to nought every time it has perceived a threat to the old power structure of which it is a part. Ms Shinawatra could make it jittery once again if she insists on her brother’s return.