Anutin Charnvirakul Confirmedโค as Thailand’sโ Prime Minister โขFollowingโฃ Contentious Election
Bangkok, Thailand – โ Anutin Charnvirakul, โleader of the Bhumjaithai Party (BJT), hasโค been confirmed as Thailand’sโ new Prime Minister, marking a notable shift in the nation’s political landscape. The confirmation โfollows a complex coalition-building โฃprocess after the 2023 election, where the โBJT played a pivotal role in forming โa โgovernment despite winning โฃfewer seats than the Move Forward party.โ
Anutin’s rise โฃto power comes amidst โa period of evolving cannabis policy in โThailand,โ a key platform of his party. While initially championing liberalization, the government recently moved to restrict cannabis use โin June, โbanning sales without a prescription and โreclassifying cannabisโข buds as a controlled โherb. violators now face up to one year in โขjail andโฃ a 20,000โ baht ($614)โฃ fine. Though, the department of Conventional and Alternative Medicine has authorized limited personal use for patientsโฃ with prescriptions for conditions โคlike insomnia, chronic pain, migraines, Parkinson’s disease, or loss of appetite.
Anutin’s political journey beganโค with Thaksin Shinawatra’sโ Thai Rak Thai Party before a โค2006 military coup โฃdisrupted the political order. He faced โขa five-year ban following the 2007 dissolutionโฃ of โThai Rak Thai, returning to politicsโ as BJTโค leader in 2012. โDuringโฃ the period of military rule between 2014 and 2019, Anutin alignedโฃ his party with the military government, leveraging influence among conservative elites.
The 2023 election saw the BJT secure 70 ofโข the โข500 available seats. Despite not winning the most seats, the party was instrumental in โpreventing the Move Forward party from forming a government and afterward joined forces with the Pheu Thai party -โข the latest โคiterationโ of Thaksin Shinawatra’s โขpolitical โขvehicleโค – to establish a coalition.โ
The current political situation highlights a diminished role for Thaksin Shinawatra, whoโฃ returned to Thailand from self-imposed โคexile inโค 2023 afterโ a deal withโ conservative rivals. His return reportedlyโข alienated some โof his voter base, โฃand he departed the contry the night before theโ parliamentary vote,โ fueling โคspeculation about โa โขpotential โrenewed exile. Heโค is scheduled to appear in court on September 9 regarding previous convictions.
Beyond politics, Anutin is knownโฃ for his passion for aviation, utilizing his private โaircraft โฃto facilitateโค emergency organโข donations, and a refined palate, expressing a โlove for both โคstreetโ food and “luxurious international fare.” He also enjoys collecting Buddhist amulets.