Thaksin's in-law elected new PM of Thailand
Thursday, 18 September 2008
BANGKOK, Sept 17(AP): A brother-in-law of deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra was elected the new prime minister of Thailand in a parliamentary vote Wednesday, setting up a showdown with protesters determined to tear down his political legacy.
Somchai Wongsawat, a 61-year-old bureaucrat who is married to Thaksin's sister, appealed for national unity in a news conference shortly after the vote. He declined to answer a question about his infamous relative, who was deposed in a 2006 coup and is now in exile in London.
"It is now time for Thailand to unite, to reconcile and to solve the conflict," Somchai said. "It is not unusual to be angry but we have to work together to make Thailand peaceful again."
Somchai won a firm majority of votes in the lower house of Parliament, backed by the governing six-party coalition. Lawmakers voted 298-163, with five abstentions. After the final tally, he walked over to opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to shake hands.
The arrival of a new prime minister marked a small step forward in Thailand's tumultuous political crisis, but not one likely to defuse it.
The vote, which still needs formal approval by Thailand's king, drew immediate objection from anti-government protesters who have occupied the prime minister's compound for over three weeks.
Somchai "might have a gentlemanly nature, a soft-spoken style and he might have a better reputation than everyone else (in the ruling party), but blood is thicker than water," said Somsak Kosaisuk, a protest leader, to loud cheers from protesters camped on the grounds of Government House.
Somchai Wongsawat, a 61-year-old bureaucrat who is married to Thaksin's sister, appealed for national unity in a news conference shortly after the vote. He declined to answer a question about his infamous relative, who was deposed in a 2006 coup and is now in exile in London.
"It is now time for Thailand to unite, to reconcile and to solve the conflict," Somchai said. "It is not unusual to be angry but we have to work together to make Thailand peaceful again."
Somchai won a firm majority of votes in the lower house of Parliament, backed by the governing six-party coalition. Lawmakers voted 298-163, with five abstentions. After the final tally, he walked over to opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to shake hands.
The arrival of a new prime minister marked a small step forward in Thailand's tumultuous political crisis, but not one likely to defuse it.
The vote, which still needs formal approval by Thailand's king, drew immediate objection from anti-government protesters who have occupied the prime minister's compound for over three weeks.
Somchai "might have a gentlemanly nature, a soft-spoken style and he might have a better reputation than everyone else (in the ruling party), but blood is thicker than water," said Somsak Kosaisuk, a protest leader, to loud cheers from protesters camped on the grounds of Government House.