The former property mogul was confirmed by parliamentary vote on Tuesday, just hours after Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand from 15 years of exile and was immediately jailed on old graft cases.
Thailand’s new prime minister took office on Wednesday (Aug 23) with the endorsement of the king, heading a controversial coalition including pro-military parties linked to former coup-makers.
The appointment of former property mogul Srettha Thavisin – of the Pheu Thai Party long associated with billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra – ends months of political deadlock following May’s general election.
He was confirmed by parliamentary vote on Tuesday, just hours after Thaksin returned to the kingdom from 15 years of exile and was immediately jailed on old graft cases.
Srettha received King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s written command to form a government in a ceremony at Pheu Thai headquarters at 6pm local time (11am GMT), and is likely to announce his Cabinet in the coming days.
In a national televised address after his endorsement, Srettha pledged to bring unity to the country and promote policies that would solve crises and move the country forward.
He also pledged to promote inclusiveness and govern for the benefit of all Thais, promising a new era of change.
Outgoing prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha – a former army chief who overthrew the last Pheu Thai government in a coup – congratulated Srettha and wished him luck.
Prayut suffered a heavy defeat in May’s polls as the upstart progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) rode a wave of youth and urban discontent with nearly a decade of military-backed rule to win the most seats.
But MFP’s push to reform royal insult laws and take on powerful vested business interests spooked the kingdom’s elite and saw leader Pita Limjaroenrat blocked from becoming prime minister.
This opened the way for election runners-up Pheu Thai to build a coalition that includes Prayut’s party and another linked to the generals who ousted Thaksin in 2006 and his sister Yingluck in 2014.
DEAL RUMOURS
The last two decades of Thai politics have been coloured by the bitter tussle between pro-Thaksin parties and the kingdom’s powerful pro-military and royalist establishment.
Thaksin was jailed for eight years on Tuesday, but the timing of his return, combined with Pheu Thai’s decision to share power with pro-military parties, has led many to speculate that a backroom deal has been struck to grant him leniency – though the party denies it.
The former Manchester City owner, 74, was moved from a prison quarantine facility to a police hospital on Wednesday.
Thai media reported that he had been installed in a private VIP suite on the 14th floor of the Police General Hospital, which overlooks an exclusive private members’ golf course in downtown Bangkok.
Officials said that he was suffering from multiple health problems, including heart trouble, and needed monitoring in hospital.