Thailand

Thaksin’s brother-in-law elected PM

Article published on the 2008-09-17 Latest update 2008-09-17 15:15 TU

Somchai Wongsawat greets Members of Parliament
(Photo: Reuters)

Thai MPs elected Somchai Wongsawat Prime Minister on Wednesday. Somachai is the brother-in-law of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, arousing fears that his family connections will embolden protesters who have waged a campaign against the government since May.

Somchai is a career-bureaucrat and former judge who turned to politics after his wife, Thaksin’s sister Yaowapa, was banned from holding office in the aftermath of the coup against her brother in September 2006.

After his election he immediately called for reconciliation with the protesters, led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who have occupied the PM’s office for weeks and crippled Thailand’s economy.

“It’s about time for national reconciliation in Thailand”, he told a press conference. “In the past we have had so many conflicts, but I personally don’t harbour any anger or hatred against anybody.”

The PAD vowed to push ahead with its campaign to push Somchai’s People Power Party (PPP) from government.

Somchai “is not only a nominee for Thaksin, he has direct relations”, Somsak Kosaisuk, a PAD leader, said. “How can people accept this?”

The PAD’s strategy is to create the maximum amount of chaos possible in Thailand to bring about another coup, analyst Giles Ungpakorn told RFI.

“There is nothing the new prime minister can do to satisfy them,” he said.

“The government is disillusioned by the courts and the courts are actually acting in conjunction with the anti-government protesters and factions in the army,” Ungpakorn says.

Somchai's predecessor, Samak Sundaravej, was forced from office last week by a court finding that he was receiving illegal funds from work he did outside politics.

“The governing party is trying to buy time because they are committed to parliamentary procedures," Ungpakorn says. "They want to make sure that when the courts dissolve the government party, they will be able to set up another party before … new elections.”