- Parliament confirms Anutin as PM ending week-long power vacuum.
- PM receives backing of People’s Party, which holds plurality of seats.
- Apex court due to rule on Tuesday over Thaksin’s hospital stay.
Thailand’s next prime minister has pledged to make good on his promise to lead the fractured interim government to new polls.
Conservative tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul was confirmed by parliament on Friday, ending a week-long power vacuum following the ouster of his predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The construction magnate cobbled together a coalition of opposition blocs to shut out Pheu Thai, the electoral vehicle of the once-dominant Shinawatra dynasty’s patriarch Thaksin.
He received the backing of the People’s Party, which holds a plurality of seats, on condition that he dissolve parliament within four months for fresh elections.
“I will follow all agreements,” he said Friday outside his party headquarters.
“We must bring back the spirit of the ‘Land of Smiles’ to our country during my short time in office,” he said, adding that he was known to dislike conflict.
Anutin addressed Thaksin’s unexpected flight from the kingdom the night before Friday’s vote — and days before a court case — bound for Dubai, where he said he would visit friends and seek medical treatment.
“There will be no favouritism, no persecution, and no revenge,” Anutin said.
The Supreme Court is due to rule on Tuesday in a case over Thaksin’s hospital stay following his return from exile in August 2023, a verdict some analysts say could see him jailed.
Anutin´s right-wing Bhumjaithai party went into coalition with Pheu Thai in 2023, but pulled out in June over Paetongtarn’s alleged misconduct in a leaked phone call with Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen.
The Shinawatras have been a mainstay of Thai politics for the past two decades, sparring with the pro-monarchy, pro-military establishment that views them as a threat to the kingdom´s traditional social order.
But they have faced a series of setbacks, including Paetongtarn´s removal last week.
Anutin previously served as deputy prime minister, interior minister and health minister — but is perhaps most famous for delivering on a promise to legalise cannabis in 2022.
His elevation to premiership still needs to be endorsed by Thailand’s king to become official.
