The return of the old-school Thais

Eric Ellis meets the Wykehamist and the Old Etonian who head recession-hit Thailand’s new government, and asks whether foreign investors can have confidence in them

He was born in South Kensington; his character was built at the spartan Old Malthouse prep school on the Dorset coast and at Winchester, alma mater of Hugh Gaitskell, Geoffrey Howe and Willie Whitelaw; then came the obligatory degree in PPE at St John’s College, Oxford, before successful spells with Warburgs, Robert Fleming and JPMorgan that transformed him into a very wealthy man.

His father was a senior civil servant and his grandfather a Privy Councillor. He’s tall, handsome, charismatic, just 45 — and sure enough, he’s now deputy leader of his political party. Did I mention that he has a perfect family too? Is there a better pedigree for 11 Downing Street, en route to Number 10? Probably not, but unfortunately for Britain, the Treasury that Korn Chatikavanij runs is that of the Kingdom of Thailand.