Thailand gets third leader this week as new cabinet sworn in
Former defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai was sworn in as interior minister by the king on Thursday morning, taking on a deputy prime minister role outranking Suriya's — thus becoming the acting premier.
The Thai government said in a statement on social media that the new cabinet approved Phumtham's role as acting prime minister at its first meeting.
Before Paetongtarn was ousted she assigned herself the role of culture minister in the new cabinet, meaning she has kept a perch in the upper echelons of power.
The revolving door of leadership comes as the kingdom is battling to revive a spluttering economy and secure a US trade deal averting President Donald Trump's looming threat of a 36 percent tariff.
Phumtham is considered a loyal lieutenant to the suspended Paetongtarn and her father Thaksin Shinawatra, the powerful patriarch of a dynasty which has dominated Thai 21st-century politics.
Thaksin-linked parties have been jousting with the pro-military, pro-conservative establishment since the early 2000s, but analysts say the family's political brand has now entered decline.
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