Thai Parliament Dissolves to Head Off No-Confidence Vote – Foreign Policy

Welcome back to the Global Brief, where we watch the country’s political unrest Thailandthe European Union Freeze indefinitely Russian Assets and resignation Bulgarian Prime Minister Rozhen Zhelyazkov.

Broken promises

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul officially dissolved parliament on Friday in an effort to avoid a vote of no confidence by the opposition People Power Party, which controls the majority of seats. Holding snap elections just three months into Anutin’s term raises the specter of further political turmoil in a country already vulnerable to rapid changes in the prime ministership and currently engaged in deadly clashes with neighboring Cambodia.

Welcome back to the Global Brief, where we watch the country’s political unrest Thailandthe European Union Freeze indefinitely Russian Assets and resignation Bulgarian Prime Minister Rozhen Zhelyazkov.

Broken promises

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul officially dissolved Parliament on Friday in an effort to avoid a vote of no confidence by the opposition People Power Party, which controls the majority of seats. Holding snap elections just three months into Anutin’s term raises the specter of further political turmoil in a country already vulnerable to rapid changes in the prime ministership and currently engaged in deadly clashes with neighboring Cambodia.

Anutin announced his intention to dissolve the House of Representatives late Thursday, saying he was “returning power to the people.” King Vajiralongkorn granted the request just hours later. However, critics said the maneuver was merely a way for Anutin to avoid accountability after the PPP accused him of reneging on his promise to dissolve parliament within four months and organize a constitutional referendum in exchange for the party’s support in September elections.

However, Anutin maintains that he respects the agreement, saying: “You voted for me to be prime minister and now you say you no longer support me and you ask me to dissolve parliament. I just did what you asked.”

Bangkok must now hold early elections within 45 to 60 days. Meanwhile, Anutin will oversee a caretaker government with limited powers and lacking the power to approve a new budget.

But this did not prevent the Thai leader from continuing to fight Cambodia. US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he spoke with Anutin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, during which they agreed to end hostilities on the border and return to the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. But such promises contradict a statement Anutin made a few hours ago, shortly after their conversation.

“I explained to President Trump that we are not the aggressors against Cambodia, but we are taking revenge,” Anutin told reporters. Anutin added, referring to Cambodia, that Trump “wants a ceasefire. I asked him to tell our friends.” The two countries exchanged accusations of being the aggressor party in the conflict. Since the outbreak of fighting on Monday, clashes have killed at least 20 people, injured more than 260 others, and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians from both sides.

Thai opposition leaders have long condemned the ruling party’s handling of relations with Cambodia. Anutin’s predecessor, Baitongtarn Shinawatra, was removed from his post in August and eventually resigned as party leader after being found guilty of ethics violations for using a deferential tone during negotiations with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen to address a bout of fighting over the summer.

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What we follow

Frozen Russian assets. The European Union announced on Friday that it would freeze indefinitely about $247 billion of the Russian Central Bank’s assets located in Europe. This means the bloc will not be required to vote on the asset freeze every six months, eliminating concerns that Russia-friendly countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, might reject an extension and force the EU to return assets to Moscow.

The European Union seeks to use some of these assets to help finance the war effort in Ukraine. Specifically, the bloc hopes that the indefinite freeze will help persuade Belgium to support the EU plan to use this cash to provide a loan of up to nearly $193 billion to Kiev through 2026 and 2027. The European Council is scheduled to meet next Thursday to finalize the terms of the loan, but the proposed structure requires Ukraine to repay the loan only once Russia pays war reparations to Kiev.

Friday’s move also means that the frozen assets cannot be used in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war without European approval. This is important because the Trump administration’s original 28-point peace plan, which was drafted without input from Ukraine or its European allies, would have seen the United States direct and profit from the use of frozen assets.

In response to the EU decision, the Russian Central Bank announced on Friday that it is suing Brussels-based financial group Euroclear, which holds about $225 billion in frozen Russian assets. Moscow first targeted Euroclear after the European Union froze its assets in 2022, following the country’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Protests led by Gen Z. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned on Thursday after mass anti-government protests over his alleged failure to tackle high-level corruption. Jeliazkov’s resignation was announced just minutes before parliament was set to vote on a confidence motion, and comes less than three weeks before Bulgaria joins the eurozone. Bulgaria is among the poorest members of the European Union.

This was the first Gen Z-led uprising to topple a European government. This year, youth-led movements have also called for resignations in Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, and the Philippines, toppling administrations in several of those countries.

But Bulgaria is no stranger to political turmoil. The Eastern European country has held seven national elections in just four years, and Zhelezkov was the sixth person to hold Sofia’s top job since 2020, leading the premiership for less than 11 months. Opposition leader Asen Vasiliev said that Zhelezkov’s resignation is “the first step towards Bulgaria becoming a normal European country,” adding that the next step is holding “fair and free elections.”

American pressure campaign The United States issued new sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector as well as on members of the family of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday. The restrictions come just one day after US forces seized an oil tanker carrying Venezuelan crude, the latest step in the White House’s campaign to destabilize the Maduro regime.

The Trump administration insists it is taking such measures as part of a broader operation against what the White House has described as “narcoterrorism” in Latin America. However, Maduro maintains that recent US moves in the region — including deadly strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats, a military buildup in the Caribbean, and a foreign terrorist organization designation — are aimed at bringing about regime change in Caracas and taking control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

Experts point out that this pressure campaign is not over yet. The Trump administration is preparing to intercept more Venezuelan oil transfers in the coming days, putting shipowners and maritime agencies on alert, Reuters reported on Thursday. This week’s seizure was the first such action taken against Venezuelan oil shipments since Trump first imposed comprehensive oil sanctions on Caracas in 2019.

What in the world?

On Tuesday, Israel announced that it would reopen the Allenby Crossing to the passage of humanitarian aid. With which country does Israel share this border crossing, which has been closed since September?

A- Egypt
for. Jordan
C- Syria
D- Lebanon

Odds and Ends

The sprawling city park of Bosques de Palermo in Argentina was transformed into a sea of ​​yellow fur on Monday, when 2,397 dogs gathered in the Buenos Aires area to break the unofficial world record for the largest gathering of golden retrievers. Organizer Fausto Duperre said: “This is a historic event,” noting that attendance at the celebration exceeded the record set last year, which amounted to 1,685 gold medals in Vancouver, Canada.

And the answer is…

for. Jordan

Foreign Policy’s John Haltiwanger recently sat down with UN human rights expert Francesca Albanese to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the feasibility of Trump’s peace plan.

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