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BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej survived a
no-confidence vote on Friday, mustering enough votes in parliament
despite harsh criticism of his four months in power and public
protests against him.
But the outspoken 73-year-old still faces a
political battle ahead, with his government under fire over
everything from soaring food prices to perceived slights to
Thailand’s revered king.
The premier has also been accused of acting on
behalf of his predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a
2006 military coup that installed its own leaders until new
elections brought Samak to power in February.
House speaker Chai Chidchob told the parliament
that 280 MPs had voted in support of Samak with 162 voting against.
“Therefore, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej
can continue his premiership,” he said.
The vote ended three days of heated debate which
saw Samak and his Cabinet grilled by opposition lawmakers, who
barraged them with accusations of mishandling the government in this
nation of 65 million people.
Foremost among their accusations was that Samak,
who openly campaigned for office as a proxy for Thaksin, was trying
to interfere in corruption cases laid against the billionaire tycoon
after he was toppled from power.
The former premier antagonized Bangkok’s elite
with policies such as free health care that endeared him to the
populous rural heartland, and Samak has tried with limited success
to distance himself from Thaksin.
Samak’s government has also been accused of
failing to handle soaring food prices, not defending the monarchy
against criticism and handing control of a disputed heritage site to
Cambodia.
Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, one of
the officials targeted in the vote, said he believed the debate
would help ease political tensions and restore confidence in
Thailand.
“The result of today’s vote will make
government more confident, and the prime minister and the Cabinet
ministers can go on working,” he told reporters.
“The debate will make show that we rely on
parliament to solve our problems, and it will improve the political
atmosphere,” he said.
But key partners in Samak’s coalition
government said they expected the premier to reshuffle key ministers
to address the opposition’s complaints.
Leaders of the street protests that have rumbled
through the capital for nearly five weeks said they would not call
off their rallies after the debate.
“We place no hope in parliament, and the
outcome of the vote was exactly what we expected,” said Chamlong
Srimuang, a leader of the so-called People’s Alliance for
Democracy (PAD).
The PAD led protests against Thaksin in the
months before the coup, and its latest demonstrations have raised
rumors of a new putsch—fears which have hit the Thai stock market
hard.
-- AFP
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