Thaksin deputy resigns as pressure builds
A second cabinet member has resigned from the caretaker administration led by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, adding to his political woes as he faces a legal probe into bribery allegations.
Wissanu Krea-Ngam, one of six deputy prime ministers, is a former law professor who had been expected to help Mr Thaksin defend his Thai Rak Thai party's conduct in the annulled April 2 parliamentary elections.
Mr Wissanu's departure had been predicted after another of Mr Thaksin's legal aides, cabinet secretary-general Bovornsak Uwono, quit earlier this month to become a monk.
Analysts said the two resignations were linked and may signal a crisis of confidence within government ranks.
Other ministers have been forced to deny rumours of further defections as speculation grows that a judicial probe into claims that Thai Rak Thai paid smaller parties to run in the disputed April elections could implicate senior party officials.
'It's a sinking ship, but slowly,' said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. 'This adds to the pressure on Thaksin.'
Announcing his decision, Mr Wissanu offered no explanation, but said that he planned to leave politics.
'I told Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that I am resigning and the prime minister did not stop me,' he said.
Mr Wissanu is a veteran technocrat who has served in several administrations. He was a key player last year in the government's rebuttal in parliament of corruption allegations over the purchase of baggage scanners at Bangkok's new international airport.
He also stepped into the fray after Mr Thaksin ignited a political firestorm with the tax-free disposal of his family-owned telecommunications empire to Singapore's Temasek Holdings. The sale triggered protests that led to the dissolving of parliament and snap elections.
More recently, Mr Wissanu has reportedly been preparing the ruling party's defence of its conduct in the run-up to the April 2 vote, which failed to produce a parliamentary quorum and was later annulled by the courts.
A fact-finding committee last month found evidence to suggest that Thai Rak Thai paid minor parties to field candidates in the election after the main opposition parties called a boycott. The Election Commission yesterday endorsed the findings.
Analysts say that a full judicial investigation of the bribery scandal could provide grounds for the Constitutional Court to order the dissolution of Thai Rak Thai.
Some Thai Rak Thai officials have accused the opposition Democrat Party of trumping up the charges and say the Democrats should also be investigated for underhand tricks.
While the pressure on Mr Thaksin is increasing, none of his key team have defected ahead of mid-October elections.
'It's hard to know if Wissanu's resignation is a serious blow to Thai Rak Thai, as he's not a core member. On the other hand, there has been a legal dependence on him and Bovornsak,' said Michael Montesano, professor of Southeast Asian studies at the National University of Singapore.
