BANGKOK, Thailand — A Thai court removed the prime minister Tuesday for taking pay to host a TV cooking show, setting off wild celebrations by protesters occupying his office compound. But rejoicing could be short-lived — the ruling party vowed to put him back in power.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling took Samak Sundaravej at least temporarily out of the cross-hairs of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, a rightist movement that seized the Government House complex two weeks ago to force the prime minister’s resignation.
But the ruling seemed unlikely to end the political crisis brought on by the alliance’s demands for a sea change in Thai politics, beginning with Samak’s ouster and eventually moving Thailand away from democracy in favor of a mostly appointed legislature.
After the verdict, Samak’s political party vowed to re-elect him as prime minister, as allowed by law.
Protesters said they would hold on to Government House while waiting to see whom Parliament selects as prime minister, a vote expected Friday. If Samak or anyone tied to disgraced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is picked, the occupation will continue, alliance spokesman Suriyasai Katasila told The Associated Press.
The alliance and its sympathizers — monarchists, the military and the urban elite — call Samak a puppet of Thaksin, who was forced from office by an army coup in 2006 and recently fled to Britain to avoid corruption charges.
For now, the 73-year-old Samak has been undone by being host on a popular TV cooking show, “Tasting and Complaining.” He was host for seven years before becoming prime minister in January, but he made several appearances after taking office, which the court said violated a constitutional prohibition on private employment while in office.
