Anutin's new cabinet is a mixed bag

The composition and size of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s 36-member cabinet suggest that he intends to stay in office for as long as possible, clinging to the terms of the government-enabling Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and calling an early election only if circumstances make it unavoidable.

- Thitinan Pongsudhirak

While a handful of technocrats have been entrusted with finance, commerce, energy, and foreign affairs, the constitutional maximum cabinet lineup is dominated by party bosses, political stalwarts, and coalition insiders. At its core sits Mr Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party, whose rise has been propelled less by ideology than by Thai-style politics driven by the patronage system. The policy direction is therefore likely to shift significantly from that of the previous Pheu Thai-led coalition, even as government stability looks more assured in the run-up to the next poll due by mid-2027.

Mr Anutin ascended to power only after the charter court removed Paetongtarn Shinawatra from the premiership on Aug 29. The Privy Council repudiated Pheu Thai’s motion to dissolve parliament for a snap election, creating a political vacuum that Bhumjaithai quickly exploited. In short order, the party signed an MoA with the opposition People’s Party, parliament's largest camp. The People’s Party, youthful and reform-minded, had demanded a return of the mandate to voters within four months alongside the establishment of an elected assembly to write a new constitution. As its sole prime minister candidate, Pita Limjaroenrat was banned from politics for a decade, and the People’s Party initiated the MoA with Mr Anutin without joining his government, staying in opposition.