The ruling party still has the money, the organisation, the thuggery and, in some places, the popularity to prevail. But plenty of ordinary Cambodians feel they should have a say in writing Hun Sen’s succession script
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskThe dictator is aware of his dim standing in the world. Mr Hun Sen’s repression of the political opposition and other civic groups has earned Cambodia pariah status in much of the West. China’s outsized economic, military and political influence has made Cambodia resemble a vassal state.
More striking, the autocrat has heeded the urgings of Japan and others to condemn Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He even insisted that Cambodia co-sponsor aresolution calling on Russia to withdraw. That move stunned observers—including, presumably, China, which has forged close ties with Russia. Cambodia’s own relationship with Russia and the former Soviet Union goes back to the Indochina wars of the second half of the 20th century.
In Mr Hun Sen’s Cambodia, government positions are handed out as sinecures to the offspring of ageing comrades in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party . Favoured tycoons get the right to import and distribute tobacco, booze and more. They chop down forests or grab land from subsistence farmers. Alliances among the elite are cemented with spectacular weddings. The economy has grown fairly briskly.
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