Ex-Defense Minister Poised to Become Thailand Premier
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BANGKOK, Thailand — Former Defense Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh formed a coalition Monday that will give him Thailand’s highest office.
Chavalit, whose New Aspiration Party won Sunday’s elections, recruited five other parties to form a majority in Thailand’s parliament.
All but one of the six parties had been part of the government led by former Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa. That 14-month-old coalition unraveled as a no-confidence vote loomed on allegations of corruption, mismanagement and tampering with financial institutions.
Chavalit’s biggest coup was persuading the Chart Pattana party, with 52 members, to join the governing coalition.
The switch will weaken the opposition, led by the reform-minded Democrat Party.
Chavalit, Banharn’s defense minister, had been instrumental in forcing Banharn to dissolve parliament and call new elections--the third since coup-prone Thailand’s last spell of military rule ended in 1992.
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