Thai politician Anutin Charnvirakul was elected prime minister on Monday after easily winning a parliamentary vote, defeating the candidate of the once-dominant ruling Shinawatra family party and ending a week of chaos and political deadlock, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
With decisive opposition support, Anutin easily passed the 247-vote threshold in the 492-seat House of Representatives needed to become prime minister. He and his government are expected to take office days after being formally confirmed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
A shrewd politician, Anutin has been a key figure in Thai politics during years of instability, strategically positioning his "Bhumjaithai" party between rival elites and securing her place in a series of coalition governments.
His victory over Chaikasem Nitisiri is a humiliation for the ruling Pheu Thai party, long dominated by the Shinawatra family. Meanwhile, billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has flown to Dubai, where he has spent most of the past 15 years in self-imposed exile.
Anutin, 58, is a former deputy prime minister, interior minister and health minister who led the fight against COVID-19. Although a conservative and staunch royalist, he has also become known for his campaign to decriminalize cannabis.
The new prime minister will head a minority government and will have to manage an economy facing weak consumption, tight credit conditions and rising household debt.