Saturday’s Wall Street Journal profiles Thailand’s Newin Chidchob, the Bhumjai Thai party, and his Buriram PEA soccer team:
Thai politician Newin Chidchob, banned from contesting the country’s July 3 election because of a past conviction for vote-buying, has found a field in which he might be more powerful: soccer.
Long known as an important provincial power broker here, the 52-year-old Mr. Newin is emerging as a potential kingmaker in Thailand’s coming election, largely through the success of his Buriram PEA soccer team, which is helping him build support for his new Bhumjai Thai, or Thai Pride, Party.
Smaller parties like Thai Pride frequently play a big role in Thai politics—especially so this year…