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.