Thailand's Senate has rejected an amnesty bill that threatened the country's hard-won political stability. The bill, proposed by the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, had something to offend most Thais, but the chief concern was that it would have led to the return of deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The storm of disapproval stirred up by that prospect obliged the government to drop its support for the bill. While it can be revived in 180 days, the legislation will not be revived.
Yingluck has long been accused of serving as a mere stand-in for her brother. An executive in her brother's business empire, she had no political experience before being drafted in 2011 to run for office. Suspicions mounted when the Pheu Thai party she headed ran on the slogan, "Thaksin thinks, Pheu Thai does."
The party's platform echoed that of her brother with a broad appeal to rural interests and Thailand's poorest citizens. Equally important was her call for national reconciliation, including an amnesty for all political acts since 2006, when her brother was deposed. Many observers and critics saw that effort as setting the stage for his return. Inexperience notwithstanding, Yingluck pulled off a landslide party, winning 265 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.