Thai ruling coalition left scrambling for new PM

Thailand's ruling coalition was Saturday left scrambling for a credible candidate to lead the country, a day after Samak Sundaravej's bid to return as prime minister was snuffed out.

Lawmakers from the six-party coalition failed to show up to re-elect Samak during an emergency session of parliament Friday, three days after a court stripped him of office for hosting TV cooking shows.
The People Power Party (PPP), the biggest party in the coalition, was not scheduled to meet Saturday, but protests in Bangkok against the government were ongoing, the cause apparently given fresh impetus by Samak's political demise.
An aide to Samak told AFP Friday on condition of anonymity that the ex-premier had agreed to step aside for another candidate to seek the post, and to resign as PPP leader, after the virtual no-show.
With parliament scheduled to meet Wednesday to decide on a new premier, three PPP senior figures have emerged to succeed Samak -- deputy leaders Somchai Wongsawat and Sompong Amornwiwat, and party secretary-general Surapong Suebwonglee.
However, anti-government protest leaders have previously said they will object to any prime minister drawn from the ranks of the PPP.
Analysts say the PPP will also be hard pushed to appease partners in the coalition government.
"They cannot start the new government with fundamental disagreements. You cannot form a coalition government when important coalitions are in disagreement on who should be prime minister." said Michael Nelson, visiting professor at Chulalankorn University.
At least two of PPP's coalition partners and nearly one-third of the party's own lawmakers refused to back Samak's re-election Friday, and if the PPP cannot find an acceptable candidate by Wednesday the coalition could crumble.
Political analysts said the combative Samak, despite his unpopularity in some public quarters, will be hard to replace because he is one of the few Thai politicians willing to openly confront top figures in the palace and the military.
"Later on people might propose an outsider but the problem is the constitution requires that the prime minister is a (member of parliament)," political analyst Thitinan Pognsudhirak said.
Samak's decision to bow out less than nine months after his victory in general elections will likely embolden protesters, who have besieged the prime minister's office for more than two weeks in a campaign to force out him and his cabinet.
But there was no sign Saturday they were stopping with Samak's departure.
Some 5,300 protesters, who roughly represent Thailand's traditional elite, celebrated into the early hours, said police spokesman Major General Surapol Tuanthong.
The protesters claimed that Samak was a proxy for ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The leading protest group, which calls itself the People's Alliance for Democracy, is also pushing a broader agenda to scale back Thailand's democracy by reducing the influence of poor, rural voters, who gave Thaksin steadfast support for providing universal health care and low-interest loans.
PAD spearheaded protests against Thaksin in 2006, leading to the military coup that toppled him.