Thaksin submits new Thai cabinet line-up

Thaksin submits new Thai cabinet line-up

Agence France-Presse, Bangkok

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced 12 changes in a
sweeping cabinet reshuffle on Friday in which he ditched a
government coalition partner, political sources said.

Thaksin, who commands more political power than any other
civilian leader in Thai history, was making his seventh reshuffle
since becoming premier in 2001.

He has said he is making "major" changes but has not publicly
disclosed details ahead of approval by King Bhumibol Adulyadej,
to whom Thaksin presented his new cabinet list Friday afternoon,
a government source said.

"The new list of the reshuffled cabinet will be submitted for
royal approval midday today, and the list involves 12 ministers,
including one outsider, a non-Thai Rak Thai (TRT) member,"
Thaksin told reporters earlier in the day.

Thailand's highly revered monarch is expected to approve the
new list over the weekend, followed by a royal oath-taking
ceremony on Monday.

Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party holds an unprecedented majority
in government, and 28 of the 35 cabinet posts are currently held
by TRT members.

The shift will see coalition partner, the Chart Pattana party,
ousted from government and the party's three current cabinet
members -- a deputy premier, the labor minister, and a deputy
health minister -- dumped, a party spokesman told AFP.

"Sudarat (Keyuraphan, health minister and) Thai Rak Thai
deputy leader, called our party leader to inform of the exclusion
before noon today, without giving any reason for the sacking,"
Chart Pattana spokesman Suparp Kleekajai told reporters.

"Anyway, it's politics and if we're not on the government's
side we will work in the opposition, and I see no obstacles
working with the Democrats," Suparp said.

Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) holds 296 seats in the 500-
seat lower House of Representatives, while the three-party
coalition takes it to an overwhelming majority of 364 seats
against 136 seats held by the Democrat-led opposition.

Losing Chart Pattana's 30 seats should not significantly alter
the balance of power as opposition would need 200 votes to
initiate no-confidence measures against the premier.

Another coalition member, the Chart Thai party, is expected to
retain its status quo of four ministers who oversee mainly human
resources portfolios, the sources said.

In January last year Thaksin announced the merger of another
coalition partner, the New Aspiration Party, within the TRT
ranks.