Democrat: Yingluck a 'puppet PM'

The assignment given to cabinet members of the Pheu Thai Party by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday via a Skype internet conference showed clearly that Yingluck Shinawatra is just a puppet prime minister, opposition chief whip Jurin Laksanawisit said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Ying Luck

“It is clear that Thailand now has two government leaders. The first one [Thaksin] is the real prime minister and the second is a puppet. This should not have happened,” he said.

Apart from having the duty to run the country, Ms Yingluck was also duty-bound to protect the dignity of the office of prime minister of Thailand, Mr Jurin said.

Prime Minister YIngluck Shinawatra (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)

Ms Yingluck must be aware that the cabinet is the country’s cabinet, not the family cabinet, said Mr Jurin.

Ms Yingluck denied the criticism, saying that her elder brother just wanted to show his support for the cabinet ministers of Pheu Thai. Thaksin had neither interfered with the work of the government nor given policy directives to ministers as claimed.

“The meeting was for the purpose of exchanging ideas between the party’s cabinet members after a month in office.

"Thaksin called in as the meeting was about to end. I am independent and the decision making rests with the cabinet,” she said.

Local dailies reported this morning that, via Skype, Thaksin ordered that a meeting of cabinet ministers of Pheu Thai be held every Monday to scrutinise the agenda for the cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Thaksin advised the government to come up with plans to assist the flood victims once the water has receded. He also suggested the government move ahead with economic stimulus policies, such as the village fund scheme, the reports said.

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