Aug 5, 2011

Thailand Parliament Taps Yingluck for Prime Minister


BANGKOK—Thailand's parliament formally elected Yingluck Shinawatra as the country's prime minister on Friday, signaling the start of a new but potentially rocky era in the Southeast Asian nation's long-running political drama.

The manual hand count is ongoing, but so far more than half of the country's 500 members of parliament have voted in favor of Ms. Yingluck, who will be Thailand's first female top leader.
Royal endorsement of her appointment is still to follow, but is expected to be a formality.
Even though Ms. Yingluck's Puea Thai party dominated Thailand's July 3 election, the stability of her government will depend heavily on how she manages competing groups whose interests are expected to collide in the months ahead, Thai political leaders and political analysts say.
Ms. Yingluck is also expected to face continuing scrutiny over her ties to her older brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecommunications tycoon and former prime minister, who promoted his sister's campaign. Mr. Thaksin remains a deeply divisive figure in Thailand and lives abroad to escape a corruption conviction that he says was politically motivated.
Source : wsj

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