Anutin re-elected Thailand PM after parliamentary vote
Anutin Charnvirakul has been re-elected as Thailand’s prime minister after passing a parliamentary vote, winning a new term that could usher in a rare period of stability for a country long plagued by political drama and turmoil.
Anutin, of the Bhumjaithai Party, led from the start in what turned out to be the defeat of his main rival, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the progressive People’s Party, and came a surprise runner-up in an election he was widely expected to win last month.
Anutin became the first Thai prime minister to return to office in two decades, underscoring the turmoil in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
In a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of a party that has struggled to make its mark in Thai politics, Bhumjaithai won a decisive election victory over his reformist rival after capitalizing on a wave of nationalism sparked by last year’s military conflict with Cambodia.
Much of Anutin’s success last year stems from his opportunism to capitalize on the decline of the once-dominant Pheu Thai party; He first abandoned the coalition government, then quickly maneuvered to form his own government after a court dismissed a second prime minister in just over a year.
Bhumjaithai’s coalition deal with the politically wounded Pheu Thai and a motley crew of smaller parties remained intact in Thursday’s vote, with Anutin comfortably reaching the 251 votes needed for re-election.
His alliance is expected to control 292 of the 499 available seats in parliament.
Ahead of the vote, Anutin, 59, vowed to form a cabinet and immediately start working on solving Thailand’s problems.
“Your voices are heard equally,” he told rival lawmakers.
“I am ready to accept proposals in order to fulfill my duty as head of government. We all have the same goals: the welfare of the people.”
A staunch royalist, Anutin became a mainstay in Thai politics, weathering two decades of turmoil by strategically positioning Bhumjaithai among warring elites embroiled in a bitter power struggle, ensuring his place in a series of coalition governments.
Anutin’s election victory and parliamentary confirmation give him his first clear mandate to lead a country where a long-stuttering economy is shackled by huge household debts and faces headwinds from trade uncertainty and the fallout from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Some analysts say Anutin’s survival instinct and ability to overcome political divisions may prove his greatest asset; Bhumjaithai had been spared the wrath of Thailand’s powerful military and judiciary, which had engineered the collapse of multiple governments and parties.
