Oxford-educated patrician eyes PM

BANGKOK: An Oxford-educated patrician with movie-star looks has suddenly emerged from Thailand's political chaos as the front-runner for the prime minister's job.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, 44, who heads the opposition Democrat Party, has been close to the prime minister's office before, but never made it. Now, he is clearly the No 1 candidate, apparently supported by the powerful military and businesspeople fed up with the protests and ineffectual leadership that have decimated the country's key tourism sector.

Abhisit, from a wealthy family of Thai-Chinese origin, was born in England and educated in the hallowed halls of Eton and Oxford, where he earned an honors degree in philosophy, politics and economics. Both his parents were medical professors.