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Thaksin’s kin is Thai Premier

SINGAPORE: Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was on Wednesday elected to the top post by the House of Representatives in Bangkok.

His first priority in office will be the search for ways to defuse the unrest over “proxy politics,” which is seen to be orchestrated by self-exiled Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in the 2006 military coup. Known to be a hands-on leader with a soft touch, 61-year-old Mr. Somchai will, after the constitutional monarch’s approval, succeed Samak Sundaravej, who was judicially disqualified last week in a “conflict of interest” case. Mr. Samak had come to power earlier this year following a “democracy-restoring” election. However, he was generally accused of protecting Mr. Thaksin’s “interests” and failing to prevent him from jumping bail in a case of alleged corruption.

Mr. Somchai is, in fact, married to Mr. Thaksin’s younger sister; but more importantly, his civil service background is often cited in his favour.

The unrest, which has paralysed the government and its economic machinery for weeks, is spearheaded by an umbrella group, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). Some former military leaders are known to back the PAD, and it tries to distance itself from the main opposition Democrat Party, whose leader Abhisit Vejjajiva contested against Mr. Somchai for the post in the Lower House on Wednesday. He lost by 198 votes to 298.

But, the run-up to the voting itself was not so smooth. Initially, a big faction within the People’s Power Party (PPP), the main constituent of the ruling coalition, voiced fears that Mr. Thaksin’s kin might not be acceptable to the PAD, as different from the traditional political elite. But these concerns, shared by some PPP allies, were finally overlooked.

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