By Thai Newsroom Reporters
FORMER PALANG Pracharath Party secretary-general Thammanat Prompow and 20 other MPs will definitely continue to support the current coalition government though they have left for a brand-new party, said Deputy Prime Minister/Palang Pracharath Party leader Prawit Wongsuwan today (Jan. 25).
Prawit assured that Thammanat and those MPs under his command will continue to perform as part of the Palang Pracharath-led coalition government and cast their votes for government legislations at parliament as usual.
The Palang Pracharath Party leader’s comments apparently dampened speculation that Thammanat and those ”rebellious” MPs would choose to refrain from casting votes in support of government legislations or decrees at parliament only to destabilise the Palang Pracharath-led coalition government and mount pressure upon Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to dissolve the House of Representatives and call a general election.
Prawit downplayed speculation that the coalition government will have difficulties pushing for passage of legislations at parliament, given a meagre majority of government MPs following the ouster of Thammanat and his fellow MPs from the biggest coalition partner in government.
Thammanat was reported to lead his clique of MPs to join Thai Economic Party headed by Wit Thephasadin na Ayudhya, former head of Palang Pracharath Party’s strategic campaign team and a close associate of Prawit’s. In addition, Senator Patcharawat Wongsuwan, a brother of the Palang Pracharth party boss, is speculated to act as adviser to the brand-new party.
Thammanat and his fellow MPs have a 30-day time from Jan. 20 to join a new party in order to maintain their MP status as provided by law following their ouster from Prawit’s camp.
Thammanat and the 20 MPs were formally expelled from Prawit’s camp with an ouster vote cast by 78 Palang Pracharath MPs, accounting for over three-fourths of all current MPs and members of the executive board of the party following internal partisan conflict.
Thammanat had reportedly developed the conflict with Palang Pracharath members of cabinet especially Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin and Deputy Finance Minister Santi Prompat over a recent by-election for MP in Chumphorn and Songkhla where the Palang Pracharath candidates were outvoted.
Though Suchart and Santi were assigned to take charge of the party’s electoral campaigns for the southern by-election, Thammanat was solely put to blame for such defeat, thus prompting the former party secretary-general to get himself ousted alongside his followers.
Last year, Thammanat was reshuffled out of the Prayut cabinet as deputy agriculture & cooperatives minister alongside Naruemon Pinyosinwat as deputy labour minister following a censure debate and no-confidence motion where he was accused of orchestrating a hush-hush plot for certain government MPs to abstain from voting in support of the premier.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Former Palang Pracharath Party secretary-general Thammanat Prompow. Photo: Matichon Weekly
Home Page: Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. Photo: Matichon
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