Thai PM vote postponed

The vote for a new Thai Prime Minister has been postponed until next Wednesday, and Samak has announced that he will not accept a nomination for Wednesday's vote.

Samak was forced to resign on Tuesday, by order of the Constitution Court, though there is no law to prevent him from returning to office in the future. Despite speculation of discontent within the PPP, Samak received the party's nomination yesterday.

However, this morning parliament was unable to make up a quorum of MPs; the PPP's five coalition partners, and even a faction of the PPP itself, refused to register for the vote, in protest at Samak's nomination.

The situation provides further proof of Samak's intransigence, and it's a relief that he will now have no chance of being re-elected; it also highlights the PPP's precarious position, dependent on coalition partners and riddled with factionalism.