Thailand’s Parliament on Friday picked a conservative politician to be the new prime minister, but his selection foreshadows a national election by January, prolonging the political uncertainty that has wracked the country for months.
Anutin Charnvirakul, who is best known for championing the decriminalization of cannabis in Thailand, will formally take office after he is endorsed by the king. His rise to the post was only possible after he agreed with liberal opposition lawmakers to call for elections in four months.
Mr. Anutin, 58, is set to be Thailand’s third prime minister in two years. He will take charge of a minority government at a time when the country is grappling with a fragile cease-fire with Cambodia and a weak economy because of a drop in tourist arrivals and the Trump administration’s tariffs.
The previous premier, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was suspended in July following a leaked call with the Cambodian strongman Hun Sen over a border dispute, which erupted into a five-day war later in the summer. That conversation became controversial because Ms. Paetongtarn took a deferential tone with Mr. Hun Sen. She was ultimately dismissed by a court last week over ethical lapses related to the call, a blow to her family’s political ambitions. Then on Thursday night, her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, abruptly left Thailand.
Her political party, Pheu Thai, tried to dissolve Parliament in a bid to call elections but was barred from doing so by the king’s privy council. (Thailand is a constitutional monarchy.)
Mr. Anutin emerged as a compromise candidate. A former Shinawatra ally, Mr. Anutin secured the support of the biggest opposition party, the People’s Party, by agreeing to call elections in four months.
It was an about face of sorts for Mr. Anutin, a construction tycoon, whose Bhumjaithai Party ran on a platform of conservative populism and monarchism. The People’s Party, on the other hand, is the successor of the Move Forward Party, which won the most votes in the 2023 election and sought to soften a law that forbids criticizing the monarchy.
The People’s Party said that Mr. Anutin had also pledged to organize a referendum for a new constitution drawn up by an elected constituent assembly to replace the current one that was written by a military-appointed committee after a coup in 2014. Progressives have long viewed the current constitution as an undemocratic one that was designed to entrench the power of the royalist-military establishment.
For Mr. Anutin, becoming prime minister could be an opportunity to push his signature cannabis policy. Mr. Anutin has said recently his original goal was always to create a regulated cannabis industry for medical use. He has argued against recriminalizing it, as Ms. Paetongtarn’s government had said it would.
Kittiphum Sringammuang contributed reporting.
Sui-Lee Wee is the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Times, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region.
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