After a week of turmoil and political impasse, Anutin Charnvirakul of Thailand was chosen prime minister on Friday after easily defeating the nominee of the Shinawatra family’s former powerful ruling party in a parliamentary vote.
After days of drama and a power struggle in which he outwitted Thailand’s most successful political party, Anutin easily exceeded the threshold of more than half of the lower house votes needed to become premier with resounding opposition support.
Throughout years of unrest, Anutin has remained a pillar of Thai politics by deliberately placing his Bhumjaithai party between rival elites engaged in an unwinnable power struggle and securing its place in a string of coalition governments.
