Thailand's parties jostle to fill power void after PM's ouster

Thailand's political rivals jockeyed for power on Saturday after a court sacked the prime minister, with two camps declaring they were ready to form the next government but with no indication when that might happen.

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The Constitutional Court's dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Friday for an ethics violation triggered a burst of dealmaking.

Her ruling alliance put on a united front, while a party that quit her coalition sought to rally support to fill the vacuum.

Paetongtarn, 39, was the sixth premier from or backed by the billionaire Shinawatra family to be ousted by the military or judiciary in a tumultuous two-decade battle for power and patronage among Thailand's rival elites.

With an array of competing interests, histories of betrayal and big war chests among the political groups, more shifts in allegiance could create deadlock at a time of public unease and prolonged malaise in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

The once-dominant Pheu Thai party, founded by Paetongtarn’s father Thaksin Shinawatra, has a mountain to climb to shore up a coalition that has haemorrhaged public support, opening the door to its former alliance partner Bhumjaithai to woo other parties and seek defections.