Thai party scrambles for new leader after premier’s dismissal
BANGKOK—The biggest party in Thailand’s caretaker government met on Thursday to choose a successor for dismissed premier Srettha Thavisin, as it races to shore up alliances a day ahead of a pivotal parliamentary vote on a new prime minister.
Thailand is again gripped by political drama less than a year after real estate mogul Srettha rose to power following weeks of parliamentary deadlock, with his Pheu Thai Party scrambling to retain control and deliver on its stalled populist agenda amid a stuttering economy.
The Constitutional Court ruled Srettha had “grossly breached ethical standards” when he gave a Cabinet post to Thaksin’s former lawyer Pichit Chuenban, who was briefly imprisoned for contempt of court in 2008 over an alleged attempt to bribe court staff, which was never proven.
Pheu Thai said its executives would decide on one of two eligible prime ministerial candidates—Chaikasem Nitisiri, 75, a former attorney-general and justice minister, and its inexperienced leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 37-year-old daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra.
