00:00 So this morning, Mr. Shinawat was seen leaving the police hospital here in Bangkok at around 6 a.m.
00:06 And so to answer the question about reconciliation means taking a look at the bigger picture which led to this.
00:12 So the return of Mr. Shinawat last August saw his sentence drastically reduced immediately by royal pardon to just one year.
00:21 And then he spent, as you mentioned, just six months of that sentence hiding, essentially, in the police hospital.
00:27 The public has not known much of what is ailing him or what is going on with the justice related to his case.
00:34 And so this entire situation has been observed as kind of a nod from the establishment or the conservative establishment.
00:42 And it seems to myself, as well as many people who I've spoken to, that this is the most that he will get.
00:48 Escaping the full prison term and doing, serving all of the justice that a lot of people wanted for Mr. Thaksin
00:55 is being seen as a nod from the conservative establishment.
00:59 And so going forward, it's hard to tell how they may assist him in living the rest of his life.
01:05 But so far, it seems that he would not have made it to this point were it not for some form of reconciliation with that establishment.
01:12 So he's back home at his residence in Bangkok.
01:15 But what next? He still has some legal hurdles to clear, doesn't he?
01:19 Yeah, that's correct.
01:23 So he did go home today quite quickly.
01:25 He was seen only for just a minute at the police hospital where media had been lined up all night, as well as outside of his home.
01:32 And so he will have to spend the next six months at his home.
01:35 However, he will not be subject to any electronic monitoring, such as an ankle monitoring device, which a lot of parolees have to wear.
01:43 They're saying that he doesn't have to do so because of his health.
01:46 However, he will have to check in with the Department of Corrections once per month for the next six months while he finishes that one year sentence.
01:53 And so as far as his influence in politics and his return to the conversation, I expect that Mr. Thaksin will join the current conversation.
02:03 Now that he no longer has to hide in the police hospital, he'll be able to return to social media where he was while he was in exile.
02:10 And that type of conversation is exactly what could influence the political climate here in Thailand,
02:17 as well as the fact that his daughter, Pei-Tong-Tan Shinawat, is currently the party leader for the Puey Thai Party, who leads the current coalition.
02:24 And it is thought by many that he will begin to immediately advise her more directly now that he's able to do so from home.
