THAILAND:THAILAND'S LEADERSHIP crisis deepened yesterday after sacked prime minister Samak Sundaravej said he would not try to reclaim the premiership.
Mr Samak was ousted this week for hosting a television cookery programme while he was prime minister. His decision to withdraw followed a revolt by both factions of the ruling People's Power party, and its coalition partners over plans to renominate him for the job days after a constitutional court ruled that his paid appearances on the show had amounted to a conflict of interest.
Mr Samak's supporters, who argued that the infraction was trivial, had hoped to reinstall him at a special parliamentary session.
But factions within the PPP, and its coalition partners, boycotted the session fearing that Mr Samak's re-election would escalate the government's confrontation with royalists trying to oust them from power, or even provoke a military coup.
Mr Samak, a veteran conservative, made no public comment.
But several of his aides said that he would not now be a candidate for the premiership when the parliament reconvened on Wednesday.
"He said he did his best to protect democracy. From now on, it's up to the party to decide what to do next," said Thirapol Noprampa, a Samak aide.
Mr Samak was plucked from political retirement to lead the PPP by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a military coup two years ago. He has been fighting for survival since August 26th when anti-government protesters seized his offices and pledged to stay until he resigned.
Possible successors include Mr Thaksin's brother-in-law, Somchai Wongsawat, a career bureaucrat, who is acting prime minister, and finance minister Surapong Suebwonglee, a close ally of Mr Thaksin. - (Financial Times service)