KHON KAEN, Thailand -- In the run-up to May's election, Thailand's new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin promised a dream scenario to voters in his Pheu Thai party's northeastern heartland: A landslide win would give the party the power to transform the country's most populous region, which is also its poorest.
But he warned of a less rosy future if Southeast Asia's second-largest economy ended up with a ragtag coalition in power -- exactly what has come to pass. Now, Srettha must find a way to balance the expectations he elevated in the campaign with the harsh realities of governing, or risk losing support in the first weeks of his administration and potentially costing Pheu Thai down the road.
