Thaksin's Brother In Law Voted As New Prime Minister

[george]

Thaksin's brother in law voted as new Prime Minister

Somchai elected new prime minister

BANGKOK: -- Somchai Wongsawat, a deputy leader of the People Power Party, was elected Wednesday as the new prime minister.

A total of 298 MPs voted in support of his nomination while 163 Democrat MPs voted in support of Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva's nomination.

Five MPs abstained.

-- The Nation 2008-09-17

[Jai Dee]

Thai parliament elects Thaksin relative as PM

Somchai Wongsawat, a brother-in-law of ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra, won a majority of votes in parliament on Wednesday to become Thailand's new prime minister.

Somchai has been acting prime minister since Samak Sundaravej was sacked by a court last week for hosting TV cooking shows while in office.

Source: Reuters - 17 September 2008

[george]

Somchai Wongsawat is the 26th Thai prime minister

BANGKOK: -- Somchai Wongsawat, brother in law of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, became the 26th Thai prime minister after winning voting in the parliament on Wednesday.

Somchai, deputy leader of People Power Party, won 298 to 163 over Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva. Five abstained.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob announced Somchai's victory after about an hour of voting.

PPP MPs voted for Somchai on Wednesday after difference over the nomination inside the party can be settled on Tuesday. A faction in the PPP on Monday vowed not to vote for Somchai.

Somchai was married to Yaowapa, the younger sister of former prime minister Thaksin.

Yaowapa was a member of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party and lost her voting right when the party was dissolved. His daughter Chinnicha is the youngest female MP in the current House of Representatives.

Political observers said Somchai's strength lies in his soft and gentle character, which is why he would be the perfect person to negotiate an end to political tensions with the anti-government group, People's Alliance for Democracy.

Somchai was justice permanent secretary from 1999 to 2006, and then became permanent secretary for the Labour Ministry.

In 2003, when Somchai was permanent secretary of justice, he made headlines for conflicting with then-justice minister Purachai Piumsombun over the ministry's budget.

-- The Nation 2008-09-17

[Jai Dee]

Lawmakers elect Somchai

A majority of Thai lawmakers have voted to elect ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's brother-in-law as the new prime minister.

With Wednesday's vote still under way in Thailand's lower house of Parliament, more than 236 lawmakers - the required majority - have supported the candidacy of Mr Somchai Wongsawat, 61, for prime minister.

The prospect of a prime minister related to the disgraced, deposed Thaksin and linked to his allies in the ruling People's Power Party was unlikely to disperse anti-government protesters who have been camped at the prime minister's official compound since Aug 26.

The ruling People's Power Party and its governing coalition hold 306 of the lower house's 480 seats.

Ten lawmakers were disqualified from voting.

Source: Straits Times - 17 September 2008

[hammered]

Oh well its no more velvet curtain on the PPP side. It is now out in the open and official. Thaksin is really running the show

The fun begins

[Rotweiler]

I suspect P.A.D. will now really dig-in. Fun? hmmmmm Western business reaction is already negative.

Oh well its no more velvet curtain on the PPP side. It is now out in the open and official. Thaksin is really running the show

The fun begins

[Jai Dee]

Majority vote places Somchai Wongsawat as 26th PM of Thailand

The House of Representatives today voted 298 to 163 to place Deputy Leader of the People Power Party Somchai Wongsawat as the 26th Prime Minister of Thailand.

The vote, which saw 5 MPs abstaining, was between Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and Mr. Somchai who had only received full support from the 6 party coalition government yesterday evening.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 17 September 2008

[alex_aka_P]

Thaksin's brother in law voted as new Prime Minister

Than the Show must go on©....oh, sorry - just continue....

[skooldaze]

IF they think this is going to unify the country it will do the opposite. Samak was bad enough, but the brother in law of Thaksin? How infantile can this People's Power Party be? Are they this stupid or are they just thumbing their noses at the people? And shame on the coalition partners for voting for him. You know that Banharn and his lackeys had their pockets greased by Square Face for the vote. Absolutely shameless.

[sference]

What a joke. Convinced now that things will never change.

[Boater]

He even looks like him!!

[madi]

He even looks like him!!

I think these sides do not like each other.

HAAA HAAAA

This is likely the pause before the storm.

[tezzainoz]

I though we all deserve a chance to show our true colours

My brother in law and my self have totaly different ideas and you could say we re like chalk and cheese

The 1st thing we need to do is give him a chance to show his true side

If the government goes on a direct course to save Thaskin then we will see how he's feathered

Maybe just maybe he has his country at heart

Only time will tell

Maybe I am a dreamer

[Who, me ?]

Ridiculous.....

When will this soap opera end ??

Do we really need a new coup to clean up all this mess ?

[sriracha john]

Lawmakers elect Somchai

Behind every great man is an even bigger woman...

The new First Lady of Thailand.... the one on the right.

Yaowapa Wongsawat, right, with a fellow attendee at a Montford College Bangkok Alumni gathering.

The Prime Minister also attended the gathering:

Edited September 17, 2008 by sriracha john

[Robbie Dye]

Let battle commence might be more appropriate, the PADdys are NOT going to take this one lying down. Whilst betting is strictly illegal in this country as we know, what odds on him surviviing beyond New year?

[bully]

He even looks like him!!

Same face ..... again more siit to come

[Jai Dee]

Thaksin's Brother-in-Law Elected as New Thai Prime Minister

Somchai Wongsawat, the brother-in- law of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was voted in by lawmakers as Thailand's prime minister today, a decision that will probably inflame thousands of protesters.

Lawmakers voted 298 to 163 for Somchai, who will officially start working after being endorsed by head of state King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Somchai, 61, replaces Samak Sundaravej, who was forced to step down last week after a court said he violated the Thai Constitution by taking payments for hosting a cooking show.

"My priority is to return normality'' to the country, Somchai told a news conference late yesterday after securing the backing of coalition parties that hold a majority in parliament. The government will be temporarily based at Bangkok's old international airport, he said, because more than 10,000 protesters are occupying Government House.

Mainly middle-class demonstrators have occupied the prime minister's ceremonial office compound in Bangkok since Aug. 26 demanding the ouster of a government they say contains too many allies of Thaksin. The change of prime minister won't alter that view, protest leaders say.

"We will definitely keep protesting,'' Parnthep Pongpourpan, an organizer for the People's Alliance for Democracy, said yesterday. "We cannot accept Somchai Wongsawat for prime minister since he is Thaksin's brother-in-law.''

New Elections

About 70 percent of Thais surveyed in a poll published yesterday said new elections are the best way to end the standoff. Analysts say Somchai is only a stop-gap figure.

"His role is either to combat the PAD head-on or to prepare the country for elections very soon,'' said Michael Montesano, visiting research fellow at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

A former judge and bureaucrat, Somchai became acting prime minister after the Constitutional Court ordered Samak to stand down. Protesters accused Samak of acting for Thaksin, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 amid accusations of corruption and insulting the monarchy. He fled to the U.K. last month to avoid corruption charges.

The PPP is the biggest party in Parliament, winning 233 seats in December elections after receiving strong support in northeast Thailand, where almost a third of the country's 66 million people live.

Its campaign platform of cheap health care and loans played well in the northeast, where 16.8 percent of people live on less than 1,386 baht ($40) per month, the country's official poverty line. In Bangkok, the poverty rate is less than 1 percent.

Thailand's consumer confidence index has fallen to an 11- month low of 69.6, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said last week, citing a survey of 852 people over Sept. 9-10. Economic growth may fall below 5 percent this year if the political situation remains unstable, PPP Secretary-General Surapong Suebwonglee said earlier this week.

The benchmark SET Index has dropped almost 29 percent since protests began May 25, and the baht has fallen 6.1 percent over the same period.

Source: Bloomberg - 17 September 2008

[eggomaniac]

tezzainozPosted Today, 2008-09-16 20:12:11

The 1st thing we need to do is give him a chance to show his true side

Tezz, He is NOT Thai? (some of you will get what I mean)

[Plus]

Somchai once asked Purachai the Crusader to sign off 2 billion baht fund for his ministry, Purachai refused and trimmed it to 900 million.

Somchai was really pissed off and Thaksin had to shift Purachai to yet another post to allow Somchai full access to government kitty.

[Scott]

Well of course he would be elected and I don't think they're stupid. PPP is a remake of TRT and as such they will make every effort to keep their leaders as close to the old guard as they can. That's how they won the election. A radical change might pacify PAD a little (but I doubt it), and it would most likely disenfranchise them from their voting base. So, from their perspective, he is a good choice.

[sriracha john]

Somchai Wongsawat is the 26th Thai prime minister

His daughter Chinnicha is the youngest female MP in the current House of Representatives.

People Power Party MP Chinnicha Wongsawat

[grantbkk]

With the continued unlawful occupation of Government House and most other rules of law being ignored on a world stage we could see a resurgence of Bangkok nightlife pre 2003. That is the only way Thailand will be able to lure tourists to Amazing Thailand. At least in the short term investment and business will continue to take money to stable markets in the region. TIT

[pete_r]

Somchai once asked Purachai the Crusader to sign off 2 billion baht fund for his ministry, Purachai refused and trimmed it to 900 million.

Somchai was really pissed off and Thaksin had to shift Purachai to yet another post to allow Somchai full access to government kitty.

Source please?

[jalansanitwong]

I wonder where all this leaves the ongoing Rachadaphisek land scandal case involving the new PM's sister and her husband ex PM Taksin? PM elect Somchai hasnt even started work and he is already involved in a massive conflict of interest.A bunch of secondary students from any Western world school could do a better job running Thailand ,Burma and Laos.Lets face it,they couldnt do any worse!

[astral]

A sad turn of events

[Jai Dee]

I wonder where all this leaves the ongoing Rachadaphisek land scandal case involving the new PM's sister and her husband ex PM Taksin?

See the latest posts in this topic for updates on that particular case.

[hammered]

Somchai once asked Purachai the Crusader to sign off 2 billion baht fund for his ministry, Purachai refused and trimmed it to 900 million.

Somchai was really pissed off and Thaksin had to shift Purachai to yet another post to allow Somchai full access to government kitty.

Source please?

Purachai also says that while he was justice minister, he had to defend himself after refusing to approve the ministry's budget request of Bt2 billion.

He said he received the request just one hour before the deadline for submitting it to the Budget Bureau. In his view, this did not give him enough time to consider it properly.

His decision led to a conflict with Justice Ministry Permanent Secretary Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law.

From: http://www.asiantribune.com/oldsite/show_news.php?id=8355

I think more interesting details can be found in Purachai's autobiography

Edited to add: The allegation with more detail also went out live on a radio broadcast in 2003(?) and the program or station was subsequently shut down temporarily.

Edited September 17, 2008 by hammered

[george]

FACTS:

Somchai Wongsawat, Thailand's new PM

Facts about Thailand's new Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat:

- Somchai, 61, is best known as the brother-in-law of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a coup two years ago. Somchai's wife, Yaowapa Wongsawasdi, was an influential MP in her older brother's Thai Rak Thai party before it was disbanded after the putsch.

- A law graduate and appeals court judge, most of his top government experience was as Permanent Secretary of the Justice Ministry from 1999 to 2006 and then briefly in the same position at the Labour Ministry.

He served as Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of Samak Sundaravej, who was sacked last week by the Constitutional Court.

- His relationship with Thaksin has led to frequent cries of nepotism, especially when several justice ministers with whom he clashed lost their jobs.

He countered such accusations by noting his Justice Ministry appointment came two years before Thaksin came to power.

- As well as his senior positions within the bureaucracy, he also sat on the board of several state-owned firms, including Airports of Thailand, national petroleum company PTT and Krung Thai Bank.

- Bespectacled and softly-spoken, Somchai has seldom had to endure the glare of the television cameras and appeared nervous and unsure of himself as he chaired a People Power Party (PPP) news conference last week.

-- Reuters 2008-09-17

[Jai Dee]

DAAD berate Democrat leader and PAD

The Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD), which was present in front of the Parliament building today to show support for Mr. Somchai Wongsawat ahead of the vote for the new Prime Minister, broke into verbal assault against Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjijiva.

The approximately 600 strong crowd criticized Mr. Abhisit for attempting to establish a new national administration. They also directed their criticisms towards the People's Alliance for Democracy which remains stationed at the Government House. The DAAD said that the PAD rally at the Government House is undemocratic as the site is a government structure.

Police are closely monitoring the situation at the parliament and are detering the atmosphere from escalating into violence.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 17 September 2008