Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai Party has assumed the position of prime minister after receiving the royal endorsement appointing him on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. He paid respect to the portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok.
He later delivered a speech that his government’s four years will be period of change to lessen inequality, sufferings of the people and to return Thailand back to the international stage.
“I would like to invite all Thai brothers and sisters to together to be a force, together with the government, to propel Thailand forward,” said the new PM.
The Pheu Thai Party is expected to implement several policies, including measures to boost the economy in the first half of the year, the distribution of digital money of 10,000 baht, a train subsidy of 20 baht in all routes, a 600-baht in the minimum wage, a 25,000-baht starting salary for college graduates, and a 3 trillion-baht tourism recovery plan.
In addition, the two coalition parties in the current government, the Palang Pracharat and the United Thai Nation, which together hold 76 seats, are sticking to their policy of increasing the minimum monthly allowance for senior citizens to at least 1,000 baht.
However, Srettha and his government must complete a number of procedures before beginning work in mid-September.
Acting Deputy Prime Minister caretaker Wisanu Krua-ngam, who has been involved in government for more than seven consecutive terms, explained the government’s timetable, which includes a period of about three weeks.
The caretaker government still has to continue the work and has cabinet meetings, even though the new prime minister has been formally appointed. The reason was that the new cabinet had not yet taken the oath of allegiance and had not yet presented its policies to Parliament.
The timetable for the new government is as follows:
- The formation of the Cabinet could be completed within 1 week.
- The list will be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office of the Secretary General for qualifications review, which will take about 1 week, a total of 2 weeks.
- The next step would then be royal approval of the cabinet formation, i.e., presentation of the cabinet members to the king, which would also take about 1 week.
So from the present time to the possible formation of the cabinet, there are about 3 weeks left. However, even after the Cabinet is formed, it would not be operational until it presents its policies to Parliament within 15 days.
Therefore, it is estimated that the government could possibly begin its work toward the end of September. This is necessary because the government cannot undertake any significant activities or make any decisions until this policy statement has been made.
“Although the Cabinet may wait to deal with certain matters, other government agencies may need urgent decisions, such as appointments to certain positions, as in the police or military. In these cases, the cabinet cannot wait for the new government,” Wisanu said.
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