Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (right) with members of his Cabinet in Parliament yesterday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
BANGKOK - THAI Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his ministers easily survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Saturday, after four days of occasionally acrimonious debate.
The result was predictable, as no government in Thailand has ever been dislodged through a no-confidence motion, and the ruling coalition stuck together and had the requisite numbers.
'The Parliament has voted to give confidence to the PM and another nine ministers to stay in power,' said House Speaker Chai Chidchob on Saturday.
The no-confidence vote was against nine Cabinet ministers and focused on corruption accusations and last year's deadly crackdown on anti-government 'red shirts'. Mr Abhisit won by 249 to 184 votes, and the other nine ministers won by similar margins.
But the debate - covered live on radio and TV - was widely seen as a template for the upcoming election campaign.
With high emotions, rude words and 'quarrelling' as one local newspaper called it - coming from even the normally unflappable Mr Abhisit - there are indications that the election campaign will be emotional and volatile.
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