By Ling Shuo, Xinhua,
Bangkok : With a royal endorsement from the King, Thailand’s post-reshuffle cabinet on Saturday night reveals its new face before the country.
The reshuffle is a refreshment for Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s Cabinet, six months after it won a general election and took office. During the past half year, it suffered political attacks, legal battles, street rallies and economy downturn. Both supporters and opponents are watching how the new Cabinet will run the country to survive through or to cut short its four-year tenure.
The major reshuffle was conducted only a few days after the Puea Pandin Party leader announced withdrawal from the coalition government, and only one month after the government survived a no-confidence debate in the Parliament. Some conflicts and controversial ministers seemed to be cleaned out from the government through the reshuffle, and new bloods injected into the cabinet may bring the first elected government after 2006 military coup to a favoring state.
Among the key appointees, former national police chief General Kowit Watana becomes deputy prime minister and interior minister. Kowit, a close aide of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was indirectly ousted from the chief police post soon after Thaksin regime was toppled during a military coup in 2006.
Kowit’s back to power, as some critics say, is a significant indication of the government’s future policies. Since the police is under command of the interior ministry, with Kowit’s prestige in the police, he may help tighten the government’s control over the police.
Kowit is now facing a court ruling against him and was sentenced to a suspended jail term by the Criminal Court earlier. However, the Cabinet Secretariat had confirmed with the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary that it found no legal grounds to prevent Kowit from holding office.
As for the post of commerce minister, since the former minister Mingkwan Saengsuwan was heavily attacked during the no-confidence debate in the Parliament last month by his weak control of inflation and misconduct on the rice price, Chaiya Sasomsap has been appointed the new on to replace Mingkwan.
Five members of the previous Cabinet have lost their posts in the latest shake-up. They are Chalerm Yoobamrung as the interior minister, Puea Pandin Party leader Suwit Khunkitti as deputy premier and the industry minister, Suwit’s party colleagues Ranongrak Suwanchawee as deputy finance minister, and Sithichai Kowsurat as deputy interior minister, as well as Wiroon Techapaiboon as deputy commerce minister.
Suwit recently announced his party’s pullout from the coalition government but the majority of its Parliament Members later reversed his decision.
Four people from Puea Pandin are in the new Cabinet. Man Patanotai, Information and Communication Technology Minister from the previous one, has managed to retain the seat and is set to double as deputy prime minister, a position left vacant after Suwit’s departure. New appointees from the party are Prasong Kositanon, who is new deputy interior minister; Phichai Nariptaphan, new deputy finance minister, and Pichet Tancharoen, new deputy commerce minister.
The reshuffle, mainly conducted by Prime Minister Samak, has showed the benefits for those who did not pull out from the coalition government. After Suwit’s pullout announcement, the six-party coalition government is feared to fall apart. If more parties follow Suwit’s step, Samak has to dissolve the parliament as the only measure to avoid the fate of being overthrown by a parliament impeachment.
But, a reshuffle does not necessarily mean a big boost to the government credibility rate. Just on Saturday, the anti-government civil group — the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) — continued their protest by marching to the Democracy Monument in Bangkok. The group has declared its target as — topple the Samak government.
It further threatened to lay siege on Parliament if the government went ahead to amend the Constitution.
A week ago, the PAD and a pro-government group clashed during a rally in a northeastern province, leaving two dozens of demonstrators injured.
The daily protests which staged in Thailand now could easily recall the memories of 2006. Since January 2006, the PAD organized more than a dozen of mass rallies across the country to press the then government of Thaksin and the protests later triggered a House dissolution in February and then a military coup in September.