2023-08-22 15:32:47
Special day for Thailand. The day Thaksin Shinawatra, ex-Prime Minister was imprisoned after 15 years of exile, Srettha Thavisin was appointed Prime Minister of the country. Knowing that the first is the mentor of the second. The 74-year-old billionaire must spend eight years behind bars for three cases tried in his absence, relating to his management of the country and his former company Shin Corp, meant the Supreme Court.
The total of the condemnations amounts to ten years, but two sorrows were confused. The return to power of the party associated with his family, Pheu Thai, could however allow him to hope for an adjustment or a reduction in sentence.
His return to the country coincides with the vote of Parliament, which therefore appointed a new Prime Minister on Tuesday, three months after the legislative elections of May 14 which inflicted a scathing setback on the generals in power for almost ten years.
Pheu Thai party back in power
Srettha Thavisin, a 61-year-old property developer whose business success has fueled comparisons with Thaksin, garnered a large majority of votes from 500 MPs and 250 senators (482 out of 728 voters). “I will do my best and work tirelessly to improve the quality of life for Thai people,” the entrepreneur told reporters gathered at party headquarters.
He overcame the blockages of a system in the hands of the conservative establishment, thanks to a coalition of eleven parties mixing pro-democracy and pro-army formations, but which does not include Move Forward, the reformist party which won the legislative elections on May 14. This controversial alliance allows the maintenance of the government of the military despite their electoral defeat, in exchange for a pass for the return of Thaksin, the former pet peeve of the army.
The telecom magnate’s private jet from Singapore arrived around 9 a.m. at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, where hundreds of his supporters were waiting for him. The former owner of the Manchester City football club, accused of corruption by his detractors, has polarized political life for more than twenty years between the “reds” (his supporters) and the “yellows” (conservatives loyal to the monarchy).
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