Thailand’s next PM reaffirms fresh polls promise

Thailand’s next prime minister on Saturday 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.

Anutin received the backing of the People’s Party, which holds a plurality of seats, on conditions that he recommitted to on Saturday.

“I think we are clear in terms of politics that we are going to dissolve the parliament in four months,” he said during a meeting at his party headquarters broadcast by Thai media.

“I will try to form my cabinet as soon as possible,” he said, adding that the foreign minister and energy minister were already confirmed.

Thaksin unexpectedly left the kingdom before the parliamentary vote, bound for Dubai where he said he would visit friends and seek medical treatment.

The Supreme Court is due to rule on Tuesday in a case over a hospital stay following his return from exile in August 2023, a verdict some analysts say could see him jailed.

“There will be no favouritism, no persecution, and no revenge,” Anutin told journalists on Friday.

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 decriminalise cannabis in 2022.

His elevation to the premiership still needs to be endorsed by Thailand’s king to become official.

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