Cannabis champion and tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul takes office as Thai PM

BANGKOK - Thai tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul took office as prime minister on Sept 7, with the cannabis-championing conservative ousting the nation’s dominant political dynasty and setting course for elections early in 2026.

Since the 2023 elections, Thailand’s top office has been monopolised by the Pheu Thai party of the Shinawatra dynasty – a populist force which has long sparred with the pro-monarchy, pro-military establishment.

But dynasty heiress Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sacked in August by court order, and Mr Anutin rushed to piece together his own coalition government – winning a Sept 5 Parliament vote to shut Pheu Thai out of office.

Mr Anutin previously served as deputy prime minister, interior minister and health minister – but is perhaps most famous for being the architect of Thailand’s 2022 cannabis decriminalisation.

The construction magnate becomes the kingdom’s third leader in two years, but has taken power with a coalition backing that is conditional on him dissolving Parliament within four months to hold fresh elections.

“I will work at my full capacity with honesty and morality worthy of His Majesty’s trust, for the benefit of the people and for the country,” Mr Anutin said immediately after taking office.

His term officially began after the royal endorsement of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, read aloud in a formal ceremony at Mr Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party headquarters in Bangkok.

“His Majesty the King has endorsed Mr Anutin Charnvirakul to be prime minister from now onwards,” said Mr Arpath Sukhanunth, secretary-general of the Lower House of Parliament, reading out the royal command.

Dynasty in decline

Mr Anutin is also known for managing the tourism-dependent country’s Covid-19 pandemic response and causing a backlash after he accused Westerners of spreading the virus.

He was once an ally of the Shinawatras – who have been a dominant force in Thai politics since the turn of the century, but are increasingly faltering after a succession of legal and political setbacks.

Mr Anutin abandoned his coalition with their Pheu Thai party this summer in apparent outrage over Ms Paetongtarn’s conduct during a border row with neighbouring Cambodia.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court found on Aug 29 that her conduct had breached ministerial ethics and fired her after only a year in power.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the dynasty patriarch, flew out of the kingdom in the hours ahead of the Sept 5 Parliament vote confirming Mr Anutin – bound for Dubai, where he said he would visit friends and seek medical treatment.

The Supreme Court is due to rule on Sept 9 in a case over Thaksin’s hospital stay following his return from exile in August 2023, a decision that could affect the validity of his early release from prison in 2024.

While his guilt is not the subject of the case, some analysts say the verdict could see him jailed.

Thaksin on social media promised to return from Dubai to attend the court date “in person”, while Mr Anutin has said his administration will show “no favouritism, no persecution, and no revenge”. AFP