THE SQUIZ
Thailand’s Pita Limjaroenrat – the leader of the youth-led Move Forward Party – might have won the most lower house seats in May’s election and successfully formed a coalition, but last night he failed to be confirmed as the nation’s PM. He has vowed not to quit in his quest to lead Thailand after he was defeated – despite being the only candidate. Pita fell 51 votes short in the vote of both houses of the parliament as conservative forces closed ranks to keep the progressives at bay. It’s the latest twist in Thailand’s colourful politics featuring coups, court interventions, and massive protests.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Prayuth Chan-ocha – the former army chief who came to power in a 2014 coup and leader of the United Thai Nation party – lost May’s election, taking 36 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives. It was a thumping… There was record-high voter turnout and massive wins for the opposition parties, with Move Forward claiming 151 seats. Pheu Thai – the party led by Paetongtarn, the daughter of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra – claimed 141 seats. But the incumbent military-backed government was never entirely out of the game because of a military-era rewriting of the constitution which gives the Senate an outsized say over who becomes Thailand’s PM. That parliamentary vote happened late yesterday, and Pita didn’t get the numbers, despite teaming up with Pheu Thai and 6 other minor parties.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Well, the country needs a leader… It was a big day for Thai politics because Prayuth announced his retirement from politics. He’s promised to stay on as the caretaker PM until a new government is formed. Another 2 rounds of voting have been put down for mid-next week, and the 42yo US-educated Pita can nominate again. If that doesn’t resolve things, analysts reckon widespread protests could follow… Pita’s certainly not giving up – last night, he said “I will not surrender and will use this time to garner more support.” But he is fighting an uphill battle to win enough support in the Senate, given Move Forward’s platform to remove the military from politics, dismantle business monopolies, and change the law that hands out long jail terms for insulting the monarchy. Until next week…