JAKARTA - Just days after taking office, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, through the appointment of his first cabinet, signaled his intention to improve the slumped economy and ease border tensions with Cambodia.
Anutin, who won the parliamentary vote last week with a majority vote, had only four months of power before holding elections, according to an agreement between himself and the largest party in parliament to support his candidacy as prime minister.
The former interior minister, known as a clever operator, Anutin, on Saturday appointed a veteran economist with qualified experience in government, Ekniti Nitichthanprapas, to lead the Ministry of Finance and a respected former diplomat to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"We still have to see what PM can do in that short of time," said Lavanya Venkateswaran, Senior Economist of ASEAN at OCBC.
"His role will likely be more directed to prepare for the next election," he said.
The Anutin administration may push for short-term stimulus measures to increase spending and its own position, analysts said, including the possibility of repackaging projects planned by the end-of-the-art Thai Pheu government that failed to boost growth.
Southeast Asia's second-largest economy is projected to grow by 1.8% to 2.3% this year, according to state planning agencies, and Venkateswaran said growth momentum could slow sharply to 0.5% in the second half of 2025.
Last year, Thailand's GDP growth was 2.5% lagging behind its neighboring countries.
The main drivers of the economy, including the automotive and tourism sectors, are under pressure, and government measures such as the stalled cash assistance program have not succeeded in triggering recovery.
"They need to gain popularity, so they will naturally switch to an ultra-populist policy," said Prakit Siriwattanaket, managing director of Merchant Partners Asset Management.
"Given the short time, what else can they do?" he continued.
The new government is likely to be backed by another drop in interest rates from the Bank of Thailand when it meets for a policy review next month, under the new governor, analysts said.
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