There has been a lot progress... the full (cabinet) list will be ready and submitted to the king in two to three days,' Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat told reporters. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
BANGKOK - NEW Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Saturday he will submit his new cabinet line-up to the king for royal approval in the coming days.
'There has been a lot progress... the full (cabinet) list will be ready and submitted to the king in two to three days,' he told reporters.
Mr Somchai stressed that his brother-in-law, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had no hand in selecting the new government.
'I am the Prime Minister - I make my own cabinet list. Thaksin has nothing to do with it or any involvement,' he said.
Anti-government protesters have accused Mr Somchai's People Power Party (PPP) of acting as a front for Thaksin, who was toppled in a military coup exactly two years ago.
Their claims were given fresh impetus with the election of Mr Somchai, who is married to Thaksin's sister.
Thousands of protesters have occupied the main government complex for nearly a month demanding that PPP leave government.
Mr Somchai was elected a week after his predecessor Samak Sundaravej was forced from office by a court that ruled he had been paid illegally for hosting TV cooking shows. -- AFP