The Nation reports:
Privy Council President Prem Tinsula-nonda yesterday likened Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to Britain's wartime premier and statesman Winston Churchill for selflessly taking up the leadership challenge under trying times.
"Churchill spoke about sacrifice that showed that he had to sacrifice for the country. Surayud is like Churchill in becoming the prime minister without any design but doing it for the country," Prem said.
Political leadership should be about suppressing self-interest rather than amassing power to satisfy greed and temptation, said the chief adviser to His Majesty the King, drawing on the experience of Churchill.
"Churchill is the embodiment of sacrifice as he was tasked to lead England during World War II," Prem said.
Dire circumstances saw Churchill taking up the prime minister's mantle, while Surayud was appointed premier amid the despair of social division.
"I believe both Churchill and Surayud did not expect to assume power but were willing to serve the motherland," he said.
World War II broke out because no more than 10 people were obsessed with power and tried to conquer the world, he said, quoting Churchill.
COMMENT: It might not be obvious to Prem, but England was at war with Germany and Chamberlain recommended Churchill, who was part of his War Cabinet. The tension between anti-Thaksin and pro-Thaksin supporters before 19 September is just so different from a war. I am also not sure how reluctant of a leader Churchill was given the decades he had spent in politics. He was not just a caretaker PM, he also served a term as PM in the 1950s. Can anyone point me to an inspiring speech from Surayud? Churchill and Surayud are so different and the process by how they came to be PM was so different.
This time around Prem is more cryptic with his Hitler analogy, but this quote "World War II broke out because no more than 10 people were obsessed with power and tried to conquer the world" is very similar to his previous speech where he likened Thaksin to Hitler. This time around he just doesn't mention Hilter by name. Since when was Thaksin trying to conquer the world? Prem might want to look at himself before he starts to accuse others of being "obsessed with power". The focus now is on perpetuating some myth that Surayud is the saviour of the nation.*
Is Prem a WWII buff or what? His recent analogies seem to be related to WWII.
btw, for those who like to criticise Thaksin for his belief in superstition, you should take note of this from the article quoting Prem (again similar to his last speech):
He reiterated he was confident Phra Siam Thewathirat, the Guardian Spirit, was watching over the country.
"Phra Siam Thewathirat will curse bad people to their end and to meet grievous suffering for the rest of their lives," he said.
COMMENT: So Thaksin is now cursed?
*I don't have anything against Surayud, it is the people behind him (Prem) who concern me.
UPDATE: Thailand Coup Watch has a post on the same topic. They have translated an excerpt from the speech from Thai Rath (Thai language only). Prem is obviously not a WWII buff as he is not even aware that England had a King had the time, he makes reference to the Queen choosing Churchill - he actually uses the English word Queen (ควีน). He gets his facts all muddled up as well. Have a look at the post at Thailand Coup Watch for more on why the analogy is not so apt.
I just covered this same issue in Thai Coup Watch - Prem gives Churchill a bad name
(http://thaicoupwatch.blogspot.com/2006/11/prem-gives-churchill-bad-name.html).
16 November 2006
Thailand
To Mr. Tony Blair Prime Minister of England,
General Prem Tinsulanonda, President of the Privy Council, a prominent personage prior to the coup d’etat whose role becomes more pronounced since the coup d’etat on 19 September 2006, made a speech at King Mongut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang on 15 November 2006.
“All Thais have the responsibility to promote harmony within the country by following these steps: the necessity to adhere to two main sacrifices, sacrificing for the whole proceeds personal gain and sacrificing morally base thoughts of the mind. Everyone must know of Mr. Winston Churchill, a Prime Minister like Khun Surayud. He was the Prime Minister of England during World War II. Both were not elected by the people but were appointed to act a PM because the Queen’s acknowledgement of suitability for the position. Mr. Churchill mentioned sacrifice in a statement in English to stress the necessity of sacrifice for the benefit of the country. Our PM Surayud also has accepted the PM position without intending to, but accepted the PM position for the benefit of the country. Churchill stated during WWII that WWII started because of the need for power from less than ten individuals and that these ten individuals ignited the whole world to go to war for many years because of their need for power. For this reason, I do not know how attracting power is to induce people to need power. When I was appointed PM, I did not feel that power was the instrument to induce me to act upon any certain direction; but in retrospect, I feel that I should not hold too much power”.
We feel that General Prem Tinsulanonda’s speech is false as well as inappropriate as he compares a PM appointed from the coup d’etat, in which is unaccepted by the general Thai population, to a former PM Winston Churchill, a great leader in England, who battled Nazis with victory in WWII. But, PM General Surayud Chulanont, in Thailand, is different because his battle is with the unarmed Thai citizens as he hides behind the martial law in order to force the unarmed Thai population under his thumb to the present day.
We would like the PM of England to be informed that General Prem Tinsulanonda’s comparison of Sir Winston Churchill to the present PM General Surayud Chulanont is an act of degrading a great leader to be inappropriate on General Prem Tinsulanonda’s part.
Many Thais do not agree with General Prem Tinsulanonda’s comparison between former appointed PM, Sir Winston Churchill, and present military coup appointed PM, General Surayud Chulanont. We are sorry that your former PM is soiled by General Prem Tinsulanonda’s effort to promote his associates and cohorts, who robbed democracy from the Thai people, as a great leader like Sir Winston Churchill.
With respect from Thai people
I don't think it's really a stretch for someone to compare whoever to Churchill. The tone of the previous post makes it sounds like a sacrilege to compare Surayud to Churchill, as if Winston is some kind of deity. It sounds almost like a Lese Majeste accusation.
From an Anglo-Saxon perspective, it might be justified to view Churchill as an all-around hero, and that's probably the popular discourse that we hear all the time, in English television and books, anyway. Yet this belies the fact that Churchill is only a product of his own time, an elitist,and a staunch imperialist to boot. In his own words, "I have not become the King's first Minister to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire". His point of view on class relations and colonialism was antiquated even by the standard of his own time. At the end of the war he just won, the British electorate soundly rejected him and his conservative party. So, I doubt they really held him in such impossibly high regards that Mr. Supachai imagine.
Almost every leader, wartime or peacetime, wish to be compared with Churchill. Prem apparently thinks too highly enough of Surayud to make that comparison.
I agree Prem was way off the mark . . but it was Prem's opinion.
Thaksin once said: "The United Nations is not my father." Why he made that preposterous analogy too is one of those many unexplicables about Thaksin.
In my humble opinion, I think Prem is pulling Surayud string(duh!). Is it possible by referring Surayud to Churchill would indirectly refer Prem to Churchill?