Thailand’s pilot PM Anutin is expected to retain his position after the election, with his party set to form a new coalition government.
BANGKOK: Heir to a construction fortune and hobbyist jet pilot Anutin Charnvirakul is widely expected to remain Thailand’s prime minister after this weekend’s general election.
His Bhumjaithai party came third in the last vote, but the 59-year-old conservative became prime minister in September after his predecessor Paetongtarn Shinawatra was ousted by court order.
“I came into office with a majority in the parliament,” Anutin told AFP on the campaign trail. “So it is clearly democratic.”
He secured the premiership with the backing of the reformist People’s Party, the largest parliamentary grouping, which opinion polls project will come first again.
No overall majority is forecast, and analysts expect Anutin to emerge from post-election negotiations at the head of a new coalition.
Its most likely partner is probable third-placed Pheu Thai, the party of the Shinawatra clan which has dominated politics for two decades.
“I have not prepared for loss,” Anutin said, tucking into a bowl of noodle soup alongside party members in the capital’s Chinatown neighbourhood.
Despite his wealth, he styles himself as a man of the people with a taste for street food.
The family fortune centres on Sino-Thai Engineering, a construction firm that has secured lucrative government contracts over the decades.
His political fortunes have long been intertwined with those of the Shinawatras, both as ally and rival.
Grounded from politics after an early party was dissolved, he learned to fly, collecting a small fleet of private planes.
He returned as leader of Bhumjaithai, a party that has proved something of a political chameleon, joining several government coalitions.
Earlier, he managed tourism-reliant Thailand’s pandemic response as health minister under a military-led government.
He made global headlines when he delivered in 2022 on a campaign promise to legalise cannabis, in an attempt to stimulate the economy.
The Shinawatras’ grip on power is now faltering and their electoral appeal fading.
Anutin pulled Bhumjaithai out of a coalition with Pheu Thai in June after a leaked phone call caused widespread backlash.
Fighting broke out between Thailand and Cambodia in July and December, leaving scores dead on both sides.
Analysts say the wave of nationalism resulting from the border conflict has bolstered support for Bhumjaithai.
“The conflict reshaped voter priorities around the role of the military and its role in safeguarding Thailand’s territorial sovereignty,” said political scientist Napon Jatusripitak.
“The only credible party that can take… a nationalist and a hawkish stance on the issue would be Bhumjaithai,” he added.
Three months after taking office, and before a late December ceasefire, Anutin dissolved parliament and called the election.
At his Chinatown appearance, he insisted: “Nobody wants fighting, nobody wants conflict. But we have to defend our integrity and sovereignty.”
