Post-Election Political Calendar | Projected Coalition Makeup
Anutin's second term set to begin next month
Good morning from The Coffee Parliament. Over the next few weeks, I plan to release some in-depth analyses of the 2026 general election results. The first piece will be on the election results in Bangkok, and it should be out in a couple of days.
Today’s update is a short overview to catch you up to speed on some important developments over the past week.
The political calendar
We now have a rough political calendar for the next two months.
His Majesty the King will preside over the opening of the new session of parliament on March 14.
The selection of the new Speaker of the House of Representatives will be conducted shortly after, as the first order of business of the new parliament. Current rumors indicate that Sophon Saram, currently deputy prime minister and a close associate of Newin Chidchob, will be taking this post.
Some reports are suggesting that March 19 may be the date for the election of the new prime minister. Anutin Charnvirakul will almost certainly be selected for his second term.
The new cabinet will then be appointed and the government will make their policy declaration to parliament. (The new government cannot begin their duties until the policy declaration has been made). All of this will likely conclude in April.
Coalition makeup
All the major news agencies have reported that Bhumjaithai has “closed the deal” on the makeup of the next government. It will be a “purple coalition” composed of Bhumjaithai as the coalition leader, Pheu Thai as the largest junior partner, and a constellation of small parties, such as Palang Pracharath and Prachachart, as stabilizing allies. Neither Kla Tham or the Democrat Party have been invited to join this government. The new government will have 293 seats in parliament.
These reports say that Bhumjaithai is likely to take over 14 ministries and 26 cabinet positions, including Bhumjaithai’s three star technocrats (Ekniti Nitithanpraphas, Supajee Suthumpun, Sihasak Phuangketkeow). Bowornsak Uwanno is likely to be re-appointed as deputy prime minister for legal affairs. As noted previously, Bhumjaithai will also take the speakership and one deputy speakership. Bhumjaithai will most likely be taking control of all ministries related to the economy and security. A defense minister has not yet been decided. Pheu Thai will receive nine cabinet posts, likely to be education, higher education and research, social development and human security, labour, and agriculture. Palang Pracharath is likely to receive one cabinet post.
We will see how close these reports are to the final makeup when it is announced in the next few weeks, but there is no reason to believe that these are widely off the mark, as they track with all the rumors surfacing since the general election. The reports do note that both Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai have proposed more candidates than seats available to Anutin, so it appears that no final selections have been made.
One more thing: the global energy situation
An unexpected task facing Anutin as he forms his second government is the global energy situation. According to Energy Minister Auttapol Rerkpiboon, Thailand has sufficient oil reserves for 65 days, but supplemental measures will bring that number up to 95 days. The Oil Fuel Fund continues to cap energy prices. The prime minister has now appointed a special task force to watch the situation in the Middle East and manage the fallout. We’ll keep an eye out on developments in this area.