Thailand is a country that often slips below the radar as Australia is transfixed by the geostrategic rivalries between behemoths such as the US and China. But the Herald’s expose of the dark past of one of its new ministers shows the challenges facing its threadbare democracy.

While Thailand is known in Australia mostly as a holiday destination, it has a long history of military coups, on occasion with the tacit approval of the Thai monarchy, that have stymied democracy.

Since the last coup, in 2014, the former chief of the army Prayut Chan-o-cha has ruled with the king’s support and a very thin veil of constitutional legitimacy.

After carefully controlled elections in March, the former general surprised many by winning enough seats to form a coalition government. For the first time, he can claim a democratic mandate for the decade-long battle against the populist billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted by the military in 2006.

The rest of the world must hope this marks the start of a move back towards democracy but the composition of the government, a coalition of 18 parties, raises questions, not least because of the role of deputy agriculture minister Thammanat Prompao.