A Thai pro-democracy party whose rise to power has been thwarted by the country’s conservative establishment is suddenly in pole position to anoint its next prime minister.
After the Constitutional Court removed Paetongtarn Shinawatra from the post of prime minister on Friday for an ethics violation, her unwieldy 10-party coalition split up. Now the People’s Party, which has been in opposition since a 2023 election despite winning the most seats, is being courted by rival political groups seeking to form a government.
The two main possibilities to become prime minister are Anutin Charnvirakul, the conservative leader of Bhumjaithai Party who is widely considered the frontrunner, and Chaikasem Nitisiri, the only remaining candidate backed by the billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, the father of Paetongtarn who had been the country’s most popular politician over the past few decades.
