Can an Embattled Thailand Find Compromise?

As with so many seemingly intractable fights, the warring camps that have paralyzed Thailand both say they want the same thing: a cleaner, more legitimate democratic process. It’s time for them to prove it.

The country’s long-running political soap opera has lately taken a darker turn. The ruling Pheu Thai party of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has vowed to forge ahead with elections on Feb. 2, which the opposition promises to boycott. A 60-day “state of emergency” in Bangkok and surrounding areas has raised the prospect of violence between police and protesters. Under such conditions, a victory at the polls would leave a new Pheu Thai government with a dangerously weak mandate, increasing the likelihood of intervention by the army or the king.