Thailand has a new prime minister, and his rise to the top is as much about political maneuvering as it is about personal ambition. On September 5, parliament confirmed Anutin Charnvirakul, a cautious but pragmatic figure who has long mastered the art of navigating Thailand’s turbulent and deeply polarized political landscape. At 58, he brings to the role not just experience in government but also the backing of immense family wealth, a strong regional base, and a reputation for opportunistic flexibility that has allowed him to survive – and even thrive – in one of Southeast Asia’s most unstable political arenas.

For more than two decades, Thai politics has been defined by a bitter divide: on one side, supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose populist policies earned him enduring loyalty among rural Thais; on the other, the royalist-military establishment determined to curb his influence. Anutin is one of the few politicians who has been able to straddle both camps.

His career began in the 1990s, and by the early 2000s, he was serving in Thaksin’s government. But when the military staged a coup in 2006, he managed to avoid political extinction. Over the following years, he reinvented himself, eventually taking leadership of the Bhumjaithai Party, an influential regional machine centered in the Isan region. By 2019, Bhumjaithai had become the ultimate “swing vote” party, enabling Anutin to join the government of Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thaksin’s longtime adversary, while serving as health minister. Then, in 2023, he once again switched sides, taking posts as deputy prime minister and interior minister in a coalition led by the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai Party.

This shifting........

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