Thailand's Samak gives up bid for PM's job

Thailand's ousted prime minister on Friday abandoned his bid to regain his job but the surprise move failed to appease protesters who responded with a call to purge the entire Cabinet.

Former Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej also said he would give up leadership of the ruling party, according to his aide Teerapon Noprampa.

The announcements came after Samak's People's Power Party said it would not try to reinstall Samak. That surprise decision was a clear sign that the ruling party sees the blunt-speaking conservative as a liability.

Samak, 73, has antagonized many segments of Thai society during four decades in politics, including the media and the …