With the passing of his father Bhumibol Adulyadej, known as king Rama IX of Thailand on October 13th, 2016, who was considered the only glue of the nation in a country which is very politically divided. His son who is successor and heir who ascended on the throne last December 1st under the name of Rama X, Maha Vajiralongkorn seems to want to follow in his father's footsteps. In a televised New Year's speech, broadcast on Saturday December 31st at 8 pm, the new Thai sovereign has indeed called his people to unity.

The newspaper "The Asian Tribune" reports, on the basis of a Reuters newspaper report, that King Maha Vajiralongkorn said, "No matter what problems we may face in our country, we believe that If we work together, we can overcome and remedy all situations. " The monarch also expressed his gratitude to the Thais for their loyalty to his father, who ruled for over 70 years before passing away.

 The media points out that, as Thailand is still in mourning for Bhumibol Adulyadej, the usual New Year's fireworks in Bangkok have been canceled this year. He also recalled that "in the coming weeks, King Vajiralongkorn should ratify a constitution drafted by the military junta (in power since 2014, ed) to start the process of restoration of democracy."