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Thai government finds premier violated constitution by being on a cooking show

by Dave Keating | September 9, 2008 at 01:35 am

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The Thai government has just now concluded that the premier, Samak Sundaravej, violated the constitution by appearing on a televised cooking show. It is not yet clear what implications this will have on whether he can continue to serve, but analysts are saying this means he will be forced to step down.

The decision follows weeks of protests in bangkok demanding that the leadership resign.

Thailand's beleagured prime minister appeared in court today on charges that he violated the constitution by hosting a television cooking show while in office.

Samak Sundaravej will have to resign if found guilty by the Constitutional Court.

The trial compounds the problems of Mr Samak as anti-government demonstrators continue to occupy the grounds of his offices demanding his resignation, and news emerges that 8000 students are preparing to march on Government House to show their support for the protesters.

Before taking office seven months ago, Mr Samak had hosted the popular show 'Tasting and Complaining,' a mixture of cooking tips and his own rants on subjects of his choosing. He continued on the show for some time after becoming prime minister, which led to a group of senators petitioning the court on the grounds that an acting prime minister is not allowed to work with private companies.

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Dave Keating

at 01:39 on September 9th, 2008

This story has been flagged as breaking. It will now show up on the home page for four hours. If new developments justify it, I'll renew this flag for another cycle.