After three months of post-polls uncertainty, Thailand finally has a government.
As expected, it’s a conservative coalition led by Pheu Thai that includes Bhumjaithai and the two military-backed parties, Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation. As such, Thailand foreign and defense policies under new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will represent continuity with the military-linked government that ran Thailand from 2014 until 2023.
Srettha is in a political bind.
He betrayed his supporters by breaking Pheu Thai’s pledge to not to invite military-backed parties into his ruling coalition after they were thoroughly repudiated in the May 14 general election.
Srettha hopes he can win the electorate back following his party’s Faustian bargain by implementing a host of populist economic policies to benefit rural constituents in particular.
Pheu Thai promised a lot, and…
