'Shrewd Dealmaker' Picked as Thailand's New Leader

Veteran Thai politician Anutin Charnvirakul won a vote in Parliament on Friday to become the country's next prime minister, the country's third in the space of two years. Anutin, leader of the Bhumjaithai party, won a total of 311 votes, far exceeding the 247 required majority from the House of Representatives' 492 active members, the AP reports. He and his government are expected to take office in a few days after obtaining a formal appointment from King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

• Anutin succeeds Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was dismissed by court order as prime minister last week after being found guilty of ethics violations over a politically compromising phone call with neighboring Cambodia's Senate President Hun Sen. The border dispute they discussed erupted into a deadly five-day armed conflict in July.

• Anutin had served in Paetongtarn's Cabinet, but resigned his position and withdrew his party from her coalition government after news of the leaked phone call caused a public uproar.
• Paetongtarn's Pheu Thai party, currently leading a caretaker government, attempted to dissolve Parliament on Tuesday, but the acting prime minister said their request was rejected by the king's Privy Council. The party also nominated its candidate Chaikasem Nitisiri. He received 152 votes.
• Anutin's party only has 69 seats out of 500 in Parliament, meaning he will need the support of a larger party to govern, the BBC reports. In return for the support of the progressive People's Party, Anutin agreed to hold an election within four months and begin the process of revising Thailand's military-drafted constitution.
• Reuters describes the 58-year-old Anutin as a "shrewd dealmaker." Anutin, who led the country's COVID-19 response as health minister, is considered a conservative, though he is best known for his successful push to decriminalize cannabis. He is heir to his family's construction firm, which built the parliament building Friday's vote took place in.
• A day ahead of the vote, Paetongtarn's father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, made a surprise departure from Thailand to Dubai, where he lived during his self-imposed exile starting in 2008. His travel took place days before a court ruling over a handling of his return in 2023 that could open him up to a new prison sentence. He said he was traveling for a medical checkup and would return to Thailand in a few days.