Thailand has its third prime minister in two years, following the removal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra last week by the country’s Constitutional Court. In a parliamentary vote on Friday, lawmakers selected business tycoon and long-time politician Anutin Charnvirakul as Thailand’s new leader.
His selection comes after Paetongtarn — part of Thailand’s most powerful political family — was unseated over ethical lapses in her handling of a border dispute with Cambodia. The move is viewed as a setback for the Shinawatra family, whose patriarch, former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ordered to return to prison this week by the country’s supreme court. The court ruled that Thaksin did not properly fulfil a previous sentence for corruption and abuse of power.
Anutin’s party lays claim to 69 of the 500 seats in Thailand’s parliament. As a result, the party requires at least two partners to govern. The progressive, youth-oriented People’s Party, which holds the most seats (but not enough to form a majority), has agreed to back Anutin if he calls an election within four months.
The political uncertainty comes as Thailand grapples with a series of domestic and international challenges. In addition to the ongoing border dispute with Cambodia and economic headwinds, the country’s tourism sector has yet to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
