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Thailand's new PM vows competent cabinet
AFP - 2 hours 31 minutes ago
BANGKOK (AFP) - - New Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva pledged Wednesday that his cabinet would tackle the kingdom's political and economic woes, as he awaited a royal order officially appointing him to the post.
Thailand's king was to issue a decree later Wednesday allowing Democrat Party leader Abhisit to govern, two days after the Oxford graduate won a parliamentary vote with the help of defectors from the former ruling party.
British-born Abhisit will then address the nation to outline his policies, with expectations high after six months of protests against the previous government crippled the kingdom and battered the economy .
"I will do my best to put the right man on the right job," the 44-year-old Abhisit said, referring to a cabinet list expected by Friday.
"I want to reassure everyone that I will choose competent people to implement policies that are crucial to revive our country."
Thai media have speculated that the new finance minister will be Korn Chatikavanij, a former manager at investment bank JPMorgan Chase and the Democrat Party's deputy leader.
Korn studied with Abhisit at Oxford, even taking the same course.
The prime minister-elect was scheduled to meet economic interest groups on Wednesday, including farmers and tourism industry representatives, as hundreds of police continued to guard Democrat Party headquarters.
Abhisit, who ended his party's eight years in opposition with his appointment on Monday, already faces protests by supporters of the previous government, which was loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
That government fell on December 2 when a court dissolved the ruling People Power Party (PPP) over electoral fraud charges and forced then-premier Somchai Wongsawat from office, in what Thaksin's allies labelled a "silent coup."
On Monday, around 100 Thaksin supporters dressed in bright red clashed with police and tried to block parliament as it held the special session that elected Abhisit.
Chinawat Haboonpad, one of the leaders of the so-called "red shirts," said supporters had started gathering in Bangkok's historic district and planned to march to parliament when Abhisit delivers his policy address next week.
"We demand this government dissolves the house as this government has robbed power from the people and came to power illegitimately," Chinawat told AFP.
Bangkok police said about 500 pro-Thaksin protesters showed up at Sanam Luang park in the capital's historic district on Tuesday evening, but dispersed before midnight.
Twice-elected Thaksin was overthrown in a military coup in September 2006 and although he lives in exile to escape a jail term on corruption charges, Thailand remains deeply divided between his supporters and detractors.
Protests by the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) erupted in May this year when the anti-government leaders accused the PPP of being a corrupt front for Thaksin and of trying to damage the monarchy.
The movement steadily escalated, and on November 25, thousands of PAD supporters marched on Bangkok's huge Suvarnabhumi international airport and forced its closure for eight days, causing massive economic damage.
Business leaders and investors will be looking to Abhisit to install a solid economic team.
"Now that the country's exports have slowed down, we have to boost purchasing power in rural areas for the economy to move on," Abhisit was quoted as saying Wednesday by Dow Jones Newswires.
The urbane Abhisit, who is known to friends by the western name "Mark," has repeatedly failed to connect to Thaksin's support base among the rural and city-dwelling poor, and came a distant second to the PPP in elections a year ago.
Telecoms tycoon Thaksin meanwhile had alienated elements of the old elite in the palace, military and bureaucracy -- the PAD's core support base -- who saw his popularity as a drain on their power.
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