Asian Angle | In Thailand, Srettha Thavisin is the prime minister, but is he really in charge?
- Srettha is neither the Pheu Thai leader nor an MP, and is currently at odds with the Bank of Thailand governor over the state of the economy
- Thailand’s politicians and foreign leaders have preferred to turn to Thaksin Shinawatra, even though the 75-year-old is serving a jail term for corruption
In theory, the 62-year-old real estate tycoon is the prime minister. Nominally, he leads a government coalition of 11 parties with 314 MPs in Thailand’s 500-member House of Representatives. But whether he is actually fully or partially in charge is another matter altogether.
In practice, Srettha is neither an MP nor the leader of Pheu Thai, the chief party in the ruling coalition. He has confessed to knowing a few of the party’s 141 MPs. His familiarity with MPs from other government parties is almost non-existent.
Undoubtedly, Phumtham and Prommin consulted and listened to Thaksin, even though the 75-year-old former leader is officially a criminal convict serving a one-year jail term for corruption. Thaksin is widely regarded as the actual “owner” of Pheu Thai.
