At the small Bangkok shophouse that Rukchanok Srinork uses as an office, the floor is cluttered with stacks of campaign signs and leaflets. There are bottles of Fanta and fruit donated by her supporters (orange is her party’s colour). And, by the entrance stand her team’s well-known bicycles.
Rukchanok, also known as Ice, is one of many young MPs with the progressive Move Forward party, which stunned observers by taking the most seats in last Sunday’s election in Thailand.
Rukchanok became known online for cycling around her district Bang Bon in the sweltering Bangkok heat as part of a grassroots campaign. Her work paid off: she managed to oust the son of one of Thailand’s powerful political families, defeating him by 21,000 votes.
One Thai media outlet called her a “giant killer” for stealing a seat from Wan Ubumrung, the son of a veteran politician from Pheu Thai, the heavyweight opposition party. On social media a post described her as the woman who “rode a bicycle to fell an elephant.”
“We thought we could win,” Rukchanok said in an interview this week. “We didn’t expect to win this big.
“I think our generation right now is starting a new era. We are mapping the points of the new era.”
Rukchanok’s campaign for Move Forward was run on a more modest budget than others, she said. In the mornings, she stood at a road junction, using the 90 or so seconds when traffic stopped at the red lights to shout her campaign messages through a megaphone. Her team would hand out campaign leaflets fashioned into garlands or bags, in the style of those sold by street vendors in Bangkok’s notorious traffic. In the afternoons, she cycled with a megaphone slung over the shoulder.
Unlike other candidates who tend to cruise around in pickup trucks, she was able to have genuine conversations with people, she said.
Move Forward campaigned promising significant reform and was the only party to state from the outset that it would not enter a coalition with military generals who took power in a coup in 2014. It promised to demilitarise politics, to tackle the big monopolies, expand welfare and modernise education. It was also the only party to commit to reforming the lese-majesty law, under which criticising the king can lead to 15 years in prison.
It has a strong support base of young people, many of whom took part in monarchy reform protests in 2020. Some of the party’s MPs, including Rukchanok, were on the frontlines of such rallies and have since been charged with lese-majesty.
The conservative royalist military establishment, however, strongly opposes amendments to the lese-majesty law. This means that, regardless of the election result, the path to power isn’t straightforward. Move Forward’s leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, is in talks to form a coalition. But if his numbers aren’t strong enough, he could be blocked from becoming prime minister by the unelected senate, which was appointed by the military and votes on future prime ministers.
“They have to think carefully about whether they’re going to stand with the people or against the people,” said Rukchanok of the senators, who added that it was likely people would take to the streets if they felt their votes had been ignored.
Rukchanok, 30, went to nursery in Bang Bon and grew up in nearby Thonburi. A couple with modest incomes adopted her when she was a baby.
She secured a place at Bangkok’s elite Thammasat University and funded her studies by tutoring children and through selling items on social media, where she built a big online following.
In the past, Rukchanok held very different political views, and had in fact supported the military coup in 2014, welcoming the arrival of Prayuth Chan-ocha, the coup leader who went on to become prime minister.
It was when friends challenged her about her political opinions that her stance began to change. “It made me think more critically. I questioned who would get the most benefit from the coup.”
Many other young people have made the same shift, she said, adding that the political discussion today was very different and more free compared with 10 years ago.
Move Forward’s stance on monarchy issues – including calls it made in opposition for the royal budget to be cut – would once have been unthinkable. Yet the party gained the support of mainstream celebrities and influencers in the lead-up to the election, with many sharing orange love hearts, or posting pictures of themselves stepping forwards – a play on Move Forward’s name.
While out canvassing, some older voters asked her why changing the lese-majesty was necessary: “I put it simply to them: it’s used politically – it’s been used on me too; we want to fix it,” she said.
Even if in power, it is unclear if Move Forward would be able to actually amend the law, given that it would be relying on support from other parties.
Rukchanok said she realised that being in government would be challenging. Ultimately, she wants to create a Thailand that is more equal, she said, pointing to the education and justice system, where the experiences of rich and poor people are very different.
“To be born poor in this country is a very big thing,” she said. “If you’re born poor you don’t have the resources, you can’t go to a good school, you have less opportunity.”
