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Bangkok: Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundavarej survived a no-confidence motion on Friday, as expected, after three days of fiery debate that questioned his handling of the economy at a time of stuttering growth.
Samak received 280 votes from MPs in his People Power Party and its five coalition partners, versus 162 from the opposition Democrats, who brought the motion after a month of street protests against Samak.
Seven other cabinet ministers facing censure also won similar support, although Thai newspapers are speculating that Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, a former lawyer for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, might face the axe in an expected cabinet reshuffle.
Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan could also lose his job after fierce criticism of his handling of a government scheme to support domestic rice farmers.
It remains to be seen how the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the motley group of anti-Thaksin businessmen, academics and royalists campaigning against the government, react to the parliament vote.
The PAD's month-long street campaign has upset investors, triggering concerns about anything from another military coup to policy paralysis at a precarious time for the economy.
The stock market, which has fallen more than 10 percent since the PAD launched its campaign on May 25, did not react to the government's victory in the no-confidence vote, which had been widely expected.
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