The ABC Foreign Correspondent interview with Thaksin was a dud. Too much nice chit-chat about the travails of a travelling ex-PM and Thaksin’s desire to do the best thing by his country. Ho hum! Certainly not enough hard questions about his government’s more controversial actions. Even the briefest preparation would have highlighted that the question about the payment of tax on the Shin Corp deal would meet with an easy, and well rehearsed, response. What about some harder hitting, and well researched, questions about, for example, the so-called “war on drugs” or the heavy handed management of unrest in the south. And when Thaksin started talking about “serving the monarch” what about some direct questions about his relationship with the King (and the crown prince) and even the role of the palace in the coup that bought him down? Whatever one thinks about Thaksin, a more direct and challenging interview would have been much more informative and engaging television. Australia’s national broadcaster can do much better than public relations pieces like this.

At this stage there is only a synopsis available on the ABC web site. I will provide an update if a full transcript appears, or if the interview itself shows up on Youtube.

UPDATE: The transcript is now available here.