Chaikasem, who turns 77 in August, has extensive government experience: a former attorney general, he served as Minister of Justice under former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinwatra—Thaksin’s sister and Paetongtarn’s aunt—until that government was overthrown in 2014.

What is being carried out in Thailand is a judicial coup with the backing of both right-wing and phony “progressive” parties in parliament.

Thailand swore in new Cabinet members Thursday with its government in flux after the Constitutional Court suspended the prime minister less than a year after the same court removed her predecessor.