\n<\/p>\n
Thailand\u2019s ousted former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra<\/a>, a leader once seen as a threat to the country\u2019s wealthy elite, was released on parole on Sunday, after spending only a fraction of his original eight-year prison term in detention \u2014 in a hospital.<\/p>\n Mr. Thaksin, who was removed in a coup and spent years in exile, made a stunning return to Thailand last year. He had been convicted in absentia on charges of corruption and abuse of power, and promptly sentenced when he was back in the country. But days later, the king commuted<\/a> Mr. Thaksin\u2019s sentence to one year, fueling speculation<\/a> that he had struck a deal with powerful royalists. Last week, the authorities said he would be paroled soon.<\/p>\n A billionaire businessman, Mr. Thaksin remains one of Thailand\u2019s most influential politicians. Analysts say he is unlikely to formally re-enter politics but could still play a significant role behind the scenes in the governing political party, Pheu Thai, the third incarnation of one of Mr. Thaksin\u2019s political parties.<\/p>\n On Sunday morning, television footage showed Mr. Thaksin, in a neck brace, leaving the Police General Hospital in a car, along with his two daughters. A banner with the words \u201cWelcome home\u201d and \u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting for this day for so, so long\u201d was seen hanging at the front gate of his house in western Bangkok.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For many Thais, Mr. Thaksin\u2019s parole was just the latest example of the two-tier justice system in the country, where the wealthy enjoy special treatment not given to the ordinary people. In a statement, the opposition Move Forward Party said Mr. Thaksin\u2019s release raised questions of \u201cdouble standards\u201d and \u201csupporting the privilege of a certain person over the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Move Forward officials have also questioned how much sway Mr. Thaksin would have over the current government. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin suggested he remains in charge.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Thai constitution only allows one prime minister at a time,\u201d he told reporters on Sunday, adding that he plans to see Mr. Thaksin in due course.<\/p>\n For decades, Mr. Thaksin\u2019s name invoked bitter divisions in Thailand. The country was split between the pro-Thaksin \u201cred shirt<\/a>\u201d protesters from the rural north and the anti-Thaksin \u201cyellow shirt<\/a>\u201d faction made up of royalists and the urban elite, which battled each other in the streets of Bangkok. Both the wealthy aristocrats and the military viewed him as a threat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Thaksin was ousted in 2006 after about five years in office. Through his 15 years in self-exile, the political parties he founded consistently won the most votes in every election \u2014 except last year when the progressive Move Forward Party clinched a surprise victory<\/a>. Many Thais, especially in the rural northern parts of Thailand, associate Mr. Thaksin with economic prosperity \u2014 he ushered in a universal health care system and implemented other policies that improved their livelihoods.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n