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| Southeast Asia |
| New Government Takes Office in Thailand |
| 2008-12-24 |
| Thailand's new government was sworn in Monday with promises to take swift action to tackle the country's economic ills, even as the full extent of the challenge started to become clear. Figures released Monday show a collapse in the country's all-important export sector. Exports, which account for about 70 percent of Thailand's economy, fell by 18.6 percent in November, the first drop since 2002. Thailand's financial problems have been amplified by domestic political conflict. At the end of November, protesters shut down Bangkok's two main airports as part of their campaign to bring down the previous government. By conservative estimates, the closures are thought to have cost the country nearly $3 billion in damage to the export and tourism industries. Monday marked the first full day in office for Thailand's new government, led by 44-year-old Oxford-educated economist Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand's third prime minister in four months. He has promised to make fixing the economy and bridging the country's increasingly deep political divide his main priorities. Abhisit, an opponent of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, holds out the promise of breaking the stalemate that has paralyzed Thailand's politics. The standoff over the past six months prevented the last government from actively trying to counteract the effects of the global economic slowdown. Abhisit has said he is looking at extending the previous government's plans to help the country's rural poor and stimulate domestic demand by increasing loans to rural villages and funding infrastructure projects. The first test of the new government will come early next week, when Abhisit is scheduled to outline his government's plans in an address to lawmakers. He faces challenges on two fronts: The markets will be looking not only at his plans for boosting the economy but also at events outside the parliament building, where supporters of the last administration say they will rally in an attempt to prevent Abhisit from giving his constitutionally mandated address. |
| Posted by:Fred |