Cambodia’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh speaks to media in Phnom Penh on January 5, 2015. AFP/TANG CHHIN SOTHY
On Monday, former Cambodian co-prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh returned to the political scene over fifteen years after having been ousted by a coup in 1997. Ranariddh, the son of the popular late monarch Norodom Sihanouk and half-brother of the current king, announced that he is taking his former position as the head of the Funcinpec party, which pushed him out eight years ago.
The news of a comeback threatens to compound an uneasy political climate triggered by widely contested parliamentary elections in 2013. Cambodia’s main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), unexpectedly nabbed a notable chunk of the votes in a ballot long dominated by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). That result put the CPP and autocratic Prime Minister Hun Sen on the offensive even as the CPP, led by formerly-exiled activist Sam Rainsy, boycotted parliament and pushed for concessions from the government, namely electoral reform. In an unprecedented move, Sen – a strongman who’s been in power for nearly three decades thanks to his control over the country’s military and judiciary – acquiesced; in July, the two parties agreed to a tenuous truce. (Rainsy himself stated, “we didn’t have a choice.”)
Yet the current premier no doubt has new maneuvers in store. Ranariddh announced an alliance with Sen who, while the prince’s former co-prime minister, orchestrated the 1997 coup that deposed Ranariddh, sending him into exile in France. Nonetheless, according to the prince, “Funcinpec will join hands with the CPP to maintain the sustainable development of Cambodia.” In the same speech, the prince criticized Sen’s main rival, the CNRP.
The calculus is clear: Sen wants to crowd the playing field by introducing a third party that could (in theory) steal some of CPP’s votes. And in return, Ranariddh finds himself in a position of some power. Yes, the Cambodian leader could inadvertently facilitate the rise of a viable rival – Ranariddh is popular, though his profile has been tarnished somewhat by corruption allegations in recent years.
So Sen looks to have stumbled upon political gold: an opposition leader desperate enough to agree to an alliance with his former foe yet divisive enough not to pose a true threat. The target here is critical general elections in 2018. The test will be whether Sen’s latest gambit will boost his party’s ratings – and whether Rainsy can use the remaining time to bolster the CNRP to an even more impressive performance. Either way, it’s hard to imagine Ranariddh’s comeback as anything but temporary.
