The BGA Thailand team, led by Managing Director Teerasak “Art” Siripant, wrote an update to clients on the election of Thailand’s next prime minister.

Context

  • Thailand’s Parliament on August 22 voted Pheu Thai’s party nominee, Srettha Thavisin, in as the country’s 30th prime minister, ending a drawn-out political deadlock. The formation took longer than expected — more than three months after the May 14 election.
  • Srettha’s premiership vote coincided with the stunning return of Pheu Thai’s founder and fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from 17 years of self-imposed exile. These two dramatic outcomes on the same day are seen as part of a broader deal between Thaksin and Pheu Thai and their erstwhile adversaries from the established centers of power in the military, monarchy and judiciary.

Significance

  • As Pheu Thai leads the coalition government with royalist-conservative parties returning to power, the progressive Move Forward is expected to become a vocal opposition. At issue will be to what extent Pheu Thai will adopt some of the proposed changes Move Forward has broached, including reforms of the military, monarchy and an entrenched business oligopoly.
  • Pheu Thai is set to face steep challenges because it is outnumbered in its own coalition by the conservative parties that were formerly aligned with Prayut. After losing an election for the first time in years, Pheu Thai’s negotiating power is relatively diminished, making it beholden to military-backed parties and necessitating it to concede key ministerial portfolios and policies to gain support from coalition partners.

Implications

  • Companies can expect a Pheu Thai-led government with conservative parties to be politically and economically pragmatic. While its brand is tainted by an unprecedented electoral loss, Pheu Thai will likely rely on its tried and tested populism to revitalize the Thai economy.
  • The revitalization of the Thai economy will be the top priority once the new government takes office, including the creation of a digital wallet, a minimum wage raise and minimum monthly salary for bachelor’s degrees holders.

We will continue to keep you updated on developments in Thailand as they occur. If you have comments or questions, please contact BGA Managing Director Teerasak Siripant at tsiripant@bowergroupasia.com.

Best regards,

BGA Thailand Team

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Managing Director

Art is an intuitive leader with a strong set of relationships with Thailand’s government, business, media and civil society leaders. His network spans a diverse set of stakeholders, from farmers in rural Thailand to the top echelons of Thailand’s political leadership. Prior to joining BGA, Art spent a decade serving as the chief political advisor to the Australian ambassador to Thailand. In this role, he had a front row seat to the most significant political and economic developments in Thailand. Earlier, he served as an army intelligence officer in the Royal Thai Armed Forces. Art has played a central role ... Read More