Word: prime
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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Thaksin was elected Prime Minister twice - in 2001 and 2005 - before being ousted in a military coup in September 2006. At the time, military leaders cited his unbridled corruption and alleged disloyalty to the country's monarchy to justify their action. Under international pressure, the generals stepped down and allowed elections to return a civilian to power after a little over one year of rule, but they still wield considerable power. Although Thaksin has been banned from politics for five years for violating election laws, he remains popular with the rural poor, who feel he was the first Thai leader...
...bringing the army onto the streets of the Thai capital to restore order. Thaksin, who had portrayed himself as a fighter for democracy, lost international credibility when he denied the Red Shirts were inciting unrest even as they were shown on television physically attacking the car of current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and beating and injuring one of his aides...
Thaksin's opponents, called the "Yellow Shirts" for their preferred garb, seized Government House, where the Prime Minister's office is located, and New Bangkok International Airport in 2008 as part of their efforts to oust the elected Thaksin-allied government, which they believed was preparing to dismiss all the cases against him, paving the way for his return to power. That seems ever more unlikely after Friday's court decision, although both Thaksin and his supporters are certain to continue to fight for his eventual return...
Politicians have thundered their outrage too. Greece's deputy prime minister, socialist stalwart Theodoros Pangalos, told the BBC that Germany still owed Greece for stealing its gold during World War II. Parliamentary speaker Filippos Petsalnikos summoned the Germany ambassador to discuss the "offensive" coverage of the crisis in the German press...
...Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is headed to Berlin on March 5, has tried to dampen down talk of reparation claims and said raising the issue now could be seen as "a sign of weakness and an effort to evade our responsibility." For now, the feud is merely dinner table bickering. But issues of money have a way of straining otherwise happy families...