WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Thai opposition leader becomes PM
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-15 16:31

"The Democrats are positioned to win this round. They seem to have the votes, the support of the private sector and the business community which hopes for temporary respite," said Sukhum Nuansakul, a political scientist at Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng University, shortly before the vote began.

"But the peace is likely to be short-lived. The fundamental problem has not been resolved," Sukhum said. "A Democrat win sets the stage for another round of street protests, this time by pro-Thaksin groups."

Thaksin now lives in exile, having fled Thailand ahead of an October conviction on a conflict of interest charge.

But he continues to play an active role in politics, and Saturday night Thaksin gave a prerecorded video speech to a rally of more than 40,000 of his supporters who gathered at a stadium in central Bangkok.

Thaksin decried inappropriate interference in the political process - a reference to the army's alleged intervention in favor of the Democrats - and denounced lawmakers who had been loyal to him but switched their allegiances. The army traditionally wields a great deal of influence in Thai politics.

Thaksin, a former telecommunications magnate, is still supported by many in Thailand's impoverished countryside because of his populist policies during his six years in power.

Democrat leader Abhisit told reporters Sunday that it was his party's "responsibility to offer another choice for the country when the former government has failed." He said his party would focus on national harmony and economic issues.

Thailand's economy has taken a battering due to the global slowdown, a local climate of uncertainty and the seven-day stoppage of international flights that battered the country's essential tourism industry and stranded upward of 300,000 travelers. Some economists are predicting Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy will slip into recession next year.