Sentence:  The bluntness of King Vajiralongkorn's intervention—and the determination it reveals to resist relatively small checks on royal power—is both a snub to the junta and a worry for democrats, some of whom had dared hope that the new king might be happy to <WSD>take a back seat</WSD> in public life. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To be second to someone or something; to be less important or have a lower priority.