From marijuana reformer to prime minister: Anutin takes Thailand’s top job

International

BUSINESS tycoon and licensed pilot Anutin Charnvirakul has been elected as Thailand’s new prime minister, becoming the country’s third leader in less than two years.

Known for legalizing marijuana during his tenure as health minister and for his family’s construction empire, the 58-year-old now faces the task of leading a fragile government with only months to prove himself.

Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party holds just 69 of 500 parliamentary seats, but after breaking away from the Pheu Thai-led coalition, he secured enough votes to claim the premiership. The deal was made possible with support from the People’s Party, parliament’s largest group, which agreed on condition that Anutin call elections within four months and begin revising the military-drafted constitution.

The party has pledged only to keep his government afloat until then, without backing its legislation.

The vote followed the dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra by the Constitutional Court, which ruled she violated ethics rules in handling a border dispute with Cambodia. Her removal continues a long pattern of Shinawatra-backed leaders being forced from power through court decisions or coups. Both her father, Thaksin, and her aunt, Yingluck, were deposed by the military in 2006 and 2014. Paetongtarn herself had taken office after her predecessor was ousted by court order, only to be dismissed in the same manner.

Attention also turned once again to Thaksin, who left Thailand on a private jet Thursday night. The former prime minister later confirmed he had flown to Dubai for medical treatment and promised to return before a September 9 court hearing that could send him back to jail.

With Paetongtarn sidelined and Thaksin abroad, Pheu Thai’s remaining candidate, Chaikasem Nitisiri, lacks public recognition and is in poor health, leaving the party adrift.

Anutin, long seen as a skilled political broker, has shifted alliances between military-backed factions and Pheu Thai in the past. His family’s company built Thailand’s new parliament complex, the very chamber where his premiership was confirmed. Outside politics, he is an avid flyer who owns three planes.(MyTVCebu)