Thailand's parliament elected a brother-in-law of ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister today, ensuring continued tension with protesters who accuse the new government of being his puppet.
Somchai Wongsawat, a 61-year-old bureaucrat married to Thaksin's sister, won a clear majority of parliamentary votes as the six-party ruling coalition held firm.
He has been acting prime minister since Samak Sundaravej, whom the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) also accused of being an agent for Thaksin, was sacked by a court last week for hosting TV cooking shows while in office.
There was no immediate reaction from the PAD to Mr Somchai's formal accession, although the movement has already rejected his appointment and vowed to continue its three-week sit-in at the prime minister's official compound.
Since the PAD invaded Government House, the cabinet has chosen to work out of Bangkok's old Don Muang airport.
Mr Somchai has said his first priority will be to try to end the deeply entrenched political crisis that has gripped Thailand since the PAD first launched its campaign against Thaksin in late 2005. The protests paved the way for a 2006 coup against Mr Thaksin.
"People are fed up with the rift and it is the determination of six of us here to heal that rift," he said at a meeting on Tuesday, as his wife Yaowapa, Thaksin's younger sister, looked on along with his People Power Party's coalition partners.
Separately today, a court said it was postponing a ruling on corruption charges against Mr Thaksin and his wife, who skipped bail and fled to London last month.
Mr Thaksin and Potjaman Shinawatra have both denied any wrongdoing in a Bangkok land deal probed by graft investigators appointed in the wake of the coup.
Reuters