After royal approval, Thailand has a new cabinet, but with some familiar faces

BANGKOK— Thailand on Wednesday welcomed a new Cabinet after King Maha Vajiralongkorn approved the appointment of 35 members who will report to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Paetongtarn took office on Aug. 16 after her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was forced out by a court ruling that he had violated ethics laws by appointing a Cabinet member who had served time in prison in a bribery case. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup but remains influential in politics.

Paetongtarn is the leader of the Pheu Thai Party, which took power after last year’s general election. It formed the government after conservative Senate members refused to support a prime minister nominated by the progressive Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the vote.

The new cabinet is essentially the same as Srettha’s, with five deputy prime ministers retaining their posts. Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, who are also deputy prime ministers, have also retained their posts, as has Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa.

The royal endorsement of the new Cabinet, published in the government’s official gazette, followed weeks of speculation about its composition after the pro-military Palang Pracharath Party was ousted from the ruling coalition that Srettha had formed. The party and its leader, retired general Prawit Wongsuwan, were widely believed to be behind an ethics case brought to the Constitutional Court that cost Srettha his job before he had completed a full year in office.

The Paetongtarna Pheu Thai Party invited its long-time rival, the Democratic Party, to join the ruling coalition, and its leader Chalermchai Sri-on was appointed natural resources minister, a position previously held by Prawit’s brother.

Pheu Thai’s predecessor, the Thai Rak Thai Party, ended years of Democratic dominance in electoral politics in 2001 when its billionaire founder and leader, Thaksin, became prime minister. After Thaksin was ousted in 2006, the Democrats joined forces with other conservative forces in Thai society to try to thwart the return of his political machine. Thaksin’s removal from power sparked years of fighting between his supporters and opponents on the streets, in the courts and at the ballot box.

Since Srettha lost his position due to ethical issues related to his position as a cabinet minister, Paetongtarn’s appointments were reviewed to ensure they did not have legal issues.

Srettha’s deputy interior minister, Chada Thaised, once accused of ordering two murders in the early 2000s, was replaced by his daughter Sabida, while Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thammanat Prompao, who was jailed in Australia in 1994 for heroin trafficking, also lost his post.

“The constitution provides ample scope for all kinds of ethical investigations, and the Constitutional Court has enormous authority to interpret the constitution,” said Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, a law professor at Thailand’s Thammasat University. The terms used by the court, such as “manifest honesty” and “ethical standards,” are entirely subjective, he told The Associated Press.

“It’s all systemic. When you have vindictive people and a court with the power to adjudicate on completely subjective matters, the Pheu Thai party won’t have any problems with the opposition in parliament. It will have problems with all the people it has upset by starting petitions that take them to the courts,” he said.