BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (pic), whose party won last month’s election, has finalised his new coalition to form a government that will steer the nation’s US$577 billion economy after decades of economic stagnation.
The 59-year-old leader, in power since September after the court-ordered ouster of a rival, has secured a 15-party alliance in the 500-seat House of Representatives after the Feb 8 election, according to several local media including Thai PBS, which did not cite sources.
The bloc commands the support of about 290 freshly-elected lawmakers and a vote to confirm the prime minister is expected in the coming weeks.
The shape of the new coalition emerged after the Election Commission last week certified results of the vote, confirming seats for 191 officials from Anutin’s ruling Bhumjaithai Party, the first conservative party to win an election in decades thanks to a campaign that emphasised national security in the wake of border clashes with Cambodia. One other official who had won a constituency seat remains to be certified by the election agency.
Anutin’s new 36-member cabinet will reserve 26 ministerial positions for Bhumjaithai officials across some of the top 14 ministries including finance, commerce, foreign affairs, interior and defence, according to the Thai PBS report.
Its key ally, Pheu Thai Party, with 74 seats, will be allocated nine cabinet positions, including a deputy prime minister and minister of agriculture. Palang Pracharath, with five seats, will be given one ministerial position, the report said.
The lineup of cabinet members will be finalised after the prime ministerial vote, Thai PBS said.
The latest development comes ahead of the first meeting of the new lower house to pick a House Speaker, which Anutin has said would take place within the coming week.
That person will then call another meeting for lawmakers to formally pick a new prime minister, likely within the following week.
The prime minister will then need to submit candidates for his new cabinet for vetting before he asks for royal endorsement, a process which may take a few weeks.
While the cabinet lineup is far from clear, Anutin has previously indicated that he will name three technocrats as his deputy prime ministers, including Ekniti Nitithanprapas, who will also double as finance minister. Suphajee Suthumpun will also head the commerce ministry and Sihasak Phuangketkeow will also be foreign minister.
The conservatives’ win was seen as a best-case scenario for financial markets, spooked in recent years by several bouts of political deadlock and turmoil, particularly after a reformist party won the 2023 election only to be blocked from power by the royalist conservative establishment.
Thailand’s benchmark stock index rallied strongly this year with Anutin’s win seen as limiting risks of political turmoil after being among the worst performers in the world last year. However, the war in the Middle East in the past week has nearly wiped out February’s gains.
The baht appreciated more than 7% in the past year before the war, a strength policymakers have been trying to temper given the hit to exports and tourism. It has since weakened along with most global currencies to the lowest level since Dec 1. - Bloomberg
