Telegraph.co.uk

Old Etonian becomes Thailand's new prime minister

British born, Eton and Oxford educated, Abhisit Vejjajiva has become Thailand's new prime minister after he won a tense parliamentary vote.

- -By Thomas Bell in Bangkok- -

Mr Abhisit, who is known as "Mark Vejj" to his British friends, was a contemporary of London mayor Boris Johnson at school and university and a year above Tory leader David Cameron. He is Thailand's fourth prime minister this year.

There have been two weeks of furious negotiation for the votes of MPs. There are widespread allegations that the army was responsible for organising or coercing Mr Abhisit's supporters.

Last night MPs were kept in Bangkok hotels under close supervision and without their mobile telephones, local newspapers reported, to prevent them from being persuaded at the last moment to change sides.

Political organisers were reportedly offering around £1 million to buy an MP's vote, or even merely to persuade him to take "sick leave" not turn up to parliament.

The vacancy at the top of Thai politics arose after a court dismissed the former prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, and dissolved the then ruling People Power Party two weeks ago.

Mr Abhisit based his pitch for the top job on a pledge to repair Thailand's economy, which was badly damaged when protesters occupied Bangkok's airports for over a week ar the beginning of this month.

The Democrat party leader trained as an economist before becoming a Thai MP at the age of 27. "We will restore confidence within the next two or three months," he said on the eve of the vote.

But Mr Abhisit did not condemn the airport occupations, which stranded 350,000 travellers, as they were taking place two weeks ago.

Economists believe the protests may have knocked several whole percentage points off Thailand's economy due to lost tourism, lost exports and damage to investor confidence.

Critics are now demanding Mr Abhisit punish the protest's leaders, one of whom is a senior MP in his own party.

Mr Abhisit has seen his fortunes change dramatically since he was heavily defeated in a general election a year ago.

The contest was won by the People Power Party (PPP) who were supporters of the exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Thaksin was overthrown in a military coup in 2006.

Mr Thaksin remains at the heart of Thailand's political chaos. He is adored by the poor majority for his policies of cheap health care and cheap credit. But he is despised by the middle class and the elite in the royal palace and army, who accuse him and his allies of corruption and disloyalty to the monarchy.

During its tenure of less than one year the PPP government saw two prime ministers dismissed by the courts.

Meanwhile anti-Thaksin "yellow-shirt" protesters overran and camped out in Government House and then took over Bangkok's airports.

As MPs voted for Thailand's new leader today around 100 pro-Thaksin "red-shirt" protesters gathered outside. They claim that the army and the courts have united to pull off a second "coup in disguise" against Mr Thaksin and his allies.

"We are not going to accept this. (Abhisit) did not win the election," one speaker declared. "We will blockade the gates of Parliament so they (MPs) won't be able to come out."

Their protest quickly fizzled out. But with the country still bitterly divided most analysts expect that Thailand's political turbulence will continue.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/3773558/Old-Etonian-becomes-Thailands-new-prime-minister.html

Aljazeera.net

Thai parliament names new PM

Thaksin supporters expressed anger at the result of the parliamentary vote [AFP]

Members of Thailand's parliament have named the leader of the erstwhile opposition Democrat party to be the country's new prime minister.

Abhisit Vejjajiva's election on Monday follows months of protests that subsided only after the country's Constitutional Court removed from power the People Power party (PPP) linked to ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Abhisit, needing 219 votes, won the support of 234 MPs from a range of parties, including a breakaway faction that had previously supported Thaksin, according to a Reuters tally of the votes.

But any hope that the extraordinary session of parliament's lower house would settle the political chaos appeared to be premature as 200 red-shirted supporters of the former government protested outside parliament building immediately after the vote.

Trying to block MPs from leaving the compound, the protesters denounced Abhisit as a frontman for the military, which ousted Thaksin in a 2006 coup.

Scepticism remains

Al Jazeera's Selina Downes, reporting from Bangkok, said that many remained sceptical as to whether Abhisit would be able to unite the country.

 

IN VIDEO

Thai parliament names new PM

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Abhisit would also be under pressure from the growing economic crisis, with Thailand on the brink of recession, she said.

Kasit Piromya, an adviser to the Democrat party, said the new government's priorities would lie first with "reuniting the country" and restoring international confidence in the country."

"[With] the immediate problem of declining prices of commoditities, I think we have to tackled the agricultural sector," he told Al Jazeera.

"And a the same time, we have to look at the labour ... workers will be laid off because of the auto industry cutdown, declining exports, and so on."

Disruptive protests

The parliamentary vote follows six months of disruptive protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), an anti-Thaksin movement, which peaked with a week-long blockade of Bangkok's airports beginning in late November.

The turmoil left 350,000 passengers stranded and has badly damaged Thailand's reputation as a tourist destination and its economy, with GDP growth forecast at just two per cent next year.

The vote makes Abhisit the country's third prime minister in four months after Somchai Wongsawat and Samak Sundaravej – both seen as Thaksin loyalists - were both removed by the courts in what Thaksin supporters called a judicial coup.

Thaksin supporters also claim the military coerced small parties in the previous government to form a Democrat-led government - a claim the army has denied.

Thaksin plea

Thaksin, who remains in exile abroad to avoid prison after being convicted of corruption, called for national reconciliation on Saturday and urged the military not to meddle in the parliamentary vote.

"May all sides take one step back and respect the results," he said in 20-minute recorded address to 40,000 supporters at a Bangkok sports stadium.

"Please don't use any institution to intervene. Just let the country move forward. Don't make people suffer more."

 http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/12/200812154345482120.html

The Wallstreet Journal

The 'Silent Coup'

Thailand calms, but maybe not for long.

Thailand's transition to a new government looks set to be completed within days. This is a welcome sign of normalcy in a country that's been wracked by unrest for months. But Thailand's democratic system remains deeply -- perhaps fatally -- wounded.

Yesterday Parliament elected Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leader of the Democrat Party, as the country's next prime minister. His coalition government plans to announce its cabinet appointments within six days. This will bring much-needed stability in the short term. But in the longer term, Mr. Abhisit's coalition is unlikely to resolve the fundamental conflicts that brought about this month's "silent coup" and may have trouble holding on to its tenuous grasp on power.

Mr. Abhisit's government has come to power by riding the dangerous wave of antidemocratic protest that brought the country to a standstill earlier this month. The previous government, loyal to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted by a combination of violent street protesters, with whom the military and police were largely complicit, and an activist judiciary operating under laws written by the military leaders who ruled from 2006-2007.

To get here, Mr. Abhisit's party has done what some describe as a "deal with the devil," luring away pro-Thaksin MPs by offering them important cabinet portfolios and undermining the Democrats' ability to steer policy. This fragile coalition appears to be united only by its desire to be in power. On top of that, the coalition has a slender parliamentary majority -- Mr. Abhisit was elected by a margin of 237-198 -- and by-elections next month will make that majority even slimmer.

The immediate task of the new government will be to help Thailand weather effects of the global financial crisis. Thai officials forecast GDP growth of 2% or less next year, and Thailand's tourism sector, which comprises around 6% of GDP, has been hurt by the recent airport occupations that stranded thousands of travelers. Mr. Abhisit, an Oxford-educated economist, says he will lead his economic team himself, and previously suggested that Thailand needs a large-scale stimulus package.

In the long term, however, the government must consider how to restore the power of elected officials and make Thailand a real democracy again. Elected politicians' roles have been undermined both by the 2006 coup, and by the military-imposed constitution, which mandates that only half the Senate is elected. Mr. Abhisit and his party have in the past said they would support constitutional amendments that would give more power to elected politicians. But given the fragile state of their coalition and the threat that anti-Thaksin protesters, who oppose such amendments, would return, they're unlikely to pursue this agenda.

Mr. Abhisit is Thailand's third prime minister in as many months. While he has the support of the military and the Bangkok elite, it will be difficult for him to win over pro-Thaksin rural voters, who remain angry at ouster of the duly elected government. Thailand's recent turmoil has been a battle between those who benefit from democracy, and those who don't. For now, the latter group is winning. Mr. Abhisit, despite his best intentions, may not be able to do much about that.

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122937186445607949.html

The Financial Times

Abhisit picked as Thailand’s new PM

By Tim Johnston in Bangkok

 Abhisit Vejjajiva became Thailand’s third prime minister in four months yesterday. The leader of the opposition Democrat party was voted into power by parliament in a deal that many hope will end six months of political paralysis.

Mr Abhisit, 44, who was educated at Eton and Oxford, won a parliamentary vote called after Somchai Wongsawat was removed from office 10 days ago by the Constitutional Court.

The UK-born economist has promised a rapid disbursement of government funds to try to revive the economy. But with tourism, foreign direct investment and exports all reeling from the double blow of global economic slowdown and domestic political turmoil, his government faces substantial challenges.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, said: “The first order for the new government is to restore confidence in the economy both internationally and domestically. They need to come up with a rescue package.”

The Democrats, who won more than 34 per cent of votes cast in last year’s elections, persuaded many members of the coalition led by Mr Somchai’s newly formed Puea Thai party to change sides.

Mr Abhisit’s election drew an angry response from some supporters of the former government. Cars belonging to some parliamentarians were stoned after the debate yesterday by a group of about 200 supporters of the ousted government, a descendant of the banned Thai Rak Thai party of Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled prime minister. Mr Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, has been convicted of corruption.

Mr Somchai’s administration had been barely able to function because of violent demonstrations by anti-government protesters that culminated in a week-long occupation of the country’s two main airports last month. The occupations crippled Thailand’s vital tourism industry, costing the economy an estimated Bt100bn ($2.8bn, €2.1bn, £1.9bn).

The Democrats quarantined many of their newly won supporters overnight on Sunday, keeping them in hotels and telling them to switch off their mobile telephones to make sure that Puea Thai leaders could not dissuade them from voting for the new prime minister.

Mr Thaksin, the godfather of the political movement that put Mr Somchai, his brother in law, into office, warned in a televised address over the weekend that MPs who changed sides would be punished by voters at the next elections.

Protesters from the People’s Alliance for Democracy, a minority middle-class group that campaigned against Mr Somchai, said they would return to the streets if any of his allies in Puea Thai or its coalition partners were to become prime minister.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist, said that Mr Abhisit had been “hoisted into office by the back door”.

“The military have arm-twisted former government MPs to change sides,” he said. “He has benefited from a kind of judicial veto exercised when the courts don’t like the government, and the People’s Alliance for Democracy has effectively blackmailed the legislature to prevent another Puea Thai government.”

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/027597a2-ca72-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

BBC NEWS

Thai opposition head to be new PM

Thailand's opposition leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has been confirmed as the country's new prime minister after winning a special vote in parliament.

The speaker of the lower house, Chai Chidchob, said the Democrat Party leader had beaten former police chief Pracha Promnok by 235 votes to 198.

Mr Abhisit will become Thailand's fifth leader in a little over two years.

The previous prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, was forced to resign after a court ruling earlier this month.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says Mr Abhisit will start his term in office confronting some formidable challenges.

The 44-year-old British-born politician needs to restore battered economic confidence, cool the emotional political climate, and impose his authority on a cabinet drawn up as a result of days of bargaining with his coalition partners, our correspondent says.

'Silent coup'

After the speaker of parliament had gone round and asked each of the 436 MPs to state the choice, he announced that Mr Abhisit had won and that the Democrats would be given their first chance to govern for eight years.

"Abhisit gained more than half of the vote, therefore I declare that Abhisit has been elected the new prime minister," Mr Chai said.

However, correspondents say the new coalition may only last a few weeks, as by-elections will be held on 11 January to fill 29 seats held by Thaksin supporters barred from politics by the court ruling.

There are also questions about the nature of the behind-the-scenes bargaining needed to persuade Thaksin loyalists to switch sides, with lucrative cabinet posts and, allegedly, large sums of cash being offered by both sides.

Outside the parliament, about 200 supporters of the ousted government reacted furiously to what they called a "silent coup", hurling barricades at the gates and stopping MPs from leaving. Several cars had their windows broken.

Some chanted "Abhisit, army nominee", Reuters news agency reported. The military is seen as being close to the Democrats.

Most demonstrators dispersed peacefully but promised to gather again later in the day.

Months of deadlock

Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court found Mr Somchai's governing People Power Party (PPP) guilty of fraud during the last election a year ago, and banned it and two other parties in the governing coalition.

Mr Somchai and several other PPP leaders were also barred from politics for five years.

However, lawmakers from the three parties who escaped the politics ban quickly formed a new party - Puea Thai (For Thailand) - or joined other parties.

On Sunday, Mr Somchai's brother-in-law, exiled former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, accused the army of using the courts to undermine the government and warned them not to interfere in politics.

The country was stricken by months of political deadlock as anti-government protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) mounted a campaign to topple the PPP.

The PAD accused the PPP of being a proxy for Mr Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in 2006.

The protest culminated in a week-long occupation of Bangkok's main international airport which left 300,000 foreign tourists stranded.

The PAD called off its action following the Constitutional Court ruling.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7782950.stm