Little room for sentiment

The jailing of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, over what has been described as his "feigned imprisonment" on the 14th floor of the Police General Hospital, has stirred emotions across the political spectrum.

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For supporters, his return to prison conjures sympathy for a man who, despite years of exile, continues to cast a long shadow over Thai politics.

For Pheu Thai, the party he wields immense power over, this could appear to be a rallying cry - a chance to tap into the emotional reservoir of loyalty among red-shirt voters who once propelled the party to successive landslides.

Yet, closer scrutiny suggests that Thaksin's imprisonment is unlikely to be the panacea for Pheu Thai's waning fortunes. The problems the party faces, both in leadership and strategy, cannot be solved by sympathy alone, according to observers.

In the early 2000s, Thaksin was the embodiment of populist politics, introducing schemes like the 30-baht healthcare programme and village development funds that transformed rural areas.

His ousting in the 2006 military coup and subsequent legal troubles turned him into a political martyr, galvanising mass protests and fuelling Pheu Thai's electoral dominance throughout the 2010s. Sympathy for his plight once translated directly into votes.

But the potency of that sentiment has faded, said the observers.

Two decades later, a new generation of voters has come of age - many of whom have no emotional attachment to Thaksin. Instead, they gravitate towards the progressive People's Party (PP), whose reformist agenda resonates with their aspirations. Sympathy for Thaksin may still matter in some traditional strongholds in the North and Northeast, but it lacks the nationwide mobilising power it once had.