Royalist power in Thailand

Royalists in Thailand are fighting to stem the pro-democracy movement [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( When Thailand’s royalist military staged a coup in 2014, the generals wrote a constitution that ensured it would be hard for elected politicians to take power. Those efforts paid off this week. Although his party won the most seats in a May 14 election, and he commands the support of a comfortable majority of elected lawmakers, 42-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat saw his bid to become prime minister blocked yesterday by a military-appointed Senate, which serves as a sort of insurance card for the establishment. Key Reading: [Thailand’s PM Race Can Take a Whole New Turn, Here’s How]( [Thai Conservatives Stop Pro-Democracy Candidate From Becoming PM]( [Pita Fights Odds as Thai Old Guards Hold Sway in PM Vote]( [Uncertainty Looms Over Thai PM Vote Even If Frontrunner Wins]( While Pita can keep trying to form a government, the likely outcome is one that Thailand has seen many times before: Some sort of compromise that ensures nothing threatens the interests of an entrenched royalist elite. Indeed, stocks linked to major Thai tycoons rallied today after the setback for Pita, who had pledged to break up business monopolies. The majority of the nation’s 70 million people, meanwhile, will continue to see their living standards stagnate compared with their neighbors. Over the past decade, Thailand has attracted less foreign direct investment than regional competitors Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, and last year it posted the slowest economic growth among Southeast Asia’s major economies. Thailand’s benchmark stock index is Asia’s worst performer this year. Over the long haul, however, pro-democracy forces have reason for hope. The election outcome showed Thais are clamoring for change, as they have for years, including the ability to speak more freely about the nation’s powerful — and extremely wealthy — monarchy. Past confrontations have been violent and produced vicious crackdowns. If they can’t get what they want at the ballot box, many will conclude they have little choice but to fight back again on the streets. —[Daniel Ten Kate]( Pita gestures during a rally in Bangkok on Sunday. Photographer: Valeria Mongelli/Bloomberg Check out the latest [Washington Edition newsletter](. You can [sign up]( to get it in your inbox every weekday. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the issue of [hacking]( with China’s top foreign policy official Wang Yi yesterday on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Jakarta. And back in June, on the day Blinken was set to fly to Beijing, the State Department reported anomalous activity to Microsoft that the tech firm later blamed on China-based hackers. Yet as Iain Marlow reports, Washington is staying the course on its strategy of engagement regardless. - Read the [latest]( from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ forum in Indonesia. An effort by far-right Republicans to cut off security assistance to Ukraine was [defeated]( in the US House of Congress, cementing — for now — a wall of bipartisan support for Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s invasion as isolationist members of the GOP ratcheted up calls to reduce or end aid. Ukraine faced another drone attack overnight with 16 out of 17 drones [intercepted](, its Air Defense said. 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Explainers You Can Use - [Why Hollywood’s Writers and Actors Are Striking]( - [EU Working on E-Bus for Lithium Deal With Latin American Nations]( - [Bidenomics Threatened by Trying to Meet Too Many Goals at Once]( North Korea’s new intercontinental ballistic missile increases the chances it could deliver a [strike on the US mainland](, giving leader Kim Jong Un more leverage in his dealings with President Joe Biden’s administration. When it launched this week, the rocket appeared designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads, raising the possibility at least one bomb could slip past interceptors and make its way to a target. The test-firing of a Hwasong-18 ICBM at an undisclosed location in North Korea on Wednesday. Photographer: Korean Central News Agency/AP Photo Tune in to Bloomberg TV’s Balance of Power at 5pm to 6pm ET weekdays with Washington correspondents [Annmarie Hordern]( and [Joe Mathieu](. 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Pop quiz (no cheating!) Which country is continuing to keep its land borders closed under Covid-19 measures despite the end of the pandemic? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... Buffeted by waves as high as 10 meters (33 feet) in the Yellow Sea, two circular rafts carrying neat rows of solar panels began generating electricity late last year, a crucial step toward a [new breakthrough]( for clean energy and one of the most high-profile tests yet of offshore solar technology. It’s a potential advance that would enable locations out at sea to host renewables, and help land-constrained regions accelerate a transition away from fossil fuels. Floating solar panels on the Hapcheon Dam in South Korea. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. 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