Thai prime minister rules out resigning

THAILAND’S acting prime minister yesterday ruled out resigning as a way out of a protracted political crisis that is stunting economic growth, as anti-government protesters stepped up pressure for a new administration.

Thailand is stuck in political limbo following the dismissal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and nine of her ministers on May 7 after a court found them guilty of abuse of power.

Six months of turmoil, violent protests and a disrupted general election is dragging at Southeast Asia’s second biggest economy, which shrank 2.1% in the first quarter of the year.

Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan has replaced Yingluck as caretaker prime minister, but the antigovernment protesters say he has no legal standing and they want a “neutral” government to push through reforms.

Niwatthamrong met members of the Senate, which is trying to come up with a way out of the deadlock, but he told them he would not resign.

“The current cabinet is legal in every way ... it must stay until a new cabinet of ministers is elected in. We cannot install another prime minister while we have an acting one,” Niwatthamrong said.

Thailand has not had a functioning lower house of parliament since Yingluck dissolved it in December.

Bangkok is the scene of a tense standoff between supporters of Yingluck and her brother, ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and protesters from Bangkok’s royalist middle class. The upper house Senate, the country’s only remaining legislative body, says it could select an interim prime minister but it wants the caretaker government to step down first.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who wants the caretaker government removed right away, told supporters on Sunday: “We will take democratic power and hand it back to the people.”

A former deputy prime minister in a government run by the pro-establishment Democrat Party, Suthep vowed: “From Monday, we will chase the remnants of the Thaksin regime out.

“Ministers, resign! You are stunting Thailand’s progress,” said Suthep, who has promised to surrender on May 27 if this final push does not succeed.

The state planning agency cut its forecast for this year’s growth to between 1.5 and 2.5%, from a range of 3.0 to 4.0%. It noted that public investment was 19.3% lower than a year ago as the caretaker government has no authority to begin new projects, while private sector investment fell 7.3% as confidence slumped.

“It’s likely there’ll be recession in Q2 because all the figures came in bad,” said economist Pragrom Pathomboorn, adding that much would depend on events in the coming days.

“If it drags on without a functioning government in Q3 we think the economy will grow just 0.8% this year.”

Adding to the caretaker government’s woes, a confederation of state labour unions sided with protesters by calling for a strike this week. “The ministers who remain refuse to resign, so we ask that the unions strike as of Thursday,” said Komsan Thongsiri, secretary-general of the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation.

“Many are still discussing whether they will strike. But, big state organisations, including utilities and transport companies, have often sided with us.”

The government and its supporters view a general election as the best way to solve the crisis – the ruling Puea Thai Party would be well placed to win – but a vote tentatively scheduled for July 20 looks to be off the table.

A February 2 election was disrupted by Suthep’s supporters and then declared void by the Constitutional Court. The protesters say they will disrupt any vote before changes to the electoral system are pushed through.

Thaksin was ousted by the army in a 2006 coup and convicted of abuse of power in 2008. He now lives in selfimposed exile. His enemies accuse him of being a corrupt crony capitalist who controls governance through “money politics”. Thousands of Thaksin’s “red shirts” loyalists have camped in Bangkok’s western outskirts to oppose any efforts to install an unelected prime minister. Fuelling their anger, yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of a deadly crackdown on red shirt protesters by the Democrat-led government of Suthep. — Reuters