By Thai Newsroom Reporters
CONFLICT OF INTEREST has quietly remained unsolved between the Pheu Thai and Ruam Thai Sang Chart over the ultra-conservative party’s share of the Pheu Thai-led cabinet, a partisan source said over the weekend.
Whilst some among the Ruam Thai Sang Chart rank and file had been considerably dissatisfied with the Pheu Thai denial of a cabinet deputy defence minister seat for former deputy army chief Nattapon Nakpanich, protege of de facto Ruam Thai Sang Chart boss Prayut Chan-o-cha, others have been striving to grab one for a deputy finance minister recently left vacant by the resignation of Ruam Thai Sang Chart-attached Krisada Chinavicharana.
Instead of the preferable deputy defence minister’s seat, de facto Pheu Thai boss-cum-convict on parole Thaksin Shinawatra had handed the fourth largest coalition partner the seat of a deputy commerce minister for Ruam Thai Sang Chart MP Suchart Chomklin in the latest cabinet lineup.
Nevertheless, many among the rank and file of Prayut’s camp are tussling over the post of deputy finance minister, oblivious to the earlier-targeted one for a deputy defence minister to otherwise assist Defence Minister Suthin Khlangsang, a civilian Pheu Thai MP, in taking control of all the armed services.
The Ruam Thai Sang Chart had earlier anticipated the deputy defence minister’s seat would have been given to Prayut’s party if Pheu Thai-backed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was named defence minister in concurrent fashion.
Now they may have simply forgotten about the deputy defence minister’s seat since none among the Ruam Thai Sang Chart rank and file may be viewed to qualify enough for it, probably leaving the de facto Ruam Thai Sang Chart boss frustrated and disgruntled after allegedly taken part in a hush-hush striking of a secret deal with the de facto Pheu Thai boss.
But Ruam Thai Sang Chart leader/Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathakit is simply not the person whom Thaksin would strike a deal with when it comes to the business of reshuffling the Pheu Thai-led cabinet whilst the de facto Ruam Thai Sang Chart boss, now a privy councillor, has not yet given any indication, albeit in hush-hush fashion, the partisan source said.
Nevertheless, the ultra-conservative party is quietly vying for the seat of deputy finance minister to replace Krisada whose ministerial responsibilities had been slashed from six agencies under care of the Ministry of Finance to just one, prompting him to call it quits.
The frustrations and disappointment on the part of Prayut’s camp will be more or less obvious and effective when the Office of the Attorney-General is scheduled for May 29 to decide whether to proceed with a lawsuit on grounds of lese majeste also known as Section 112 of the Criminal Code against Thaksin.
The de facto Pheu Thai boss had allegedly mentioned the Thai monarchy during an interview with a South Korean news agency in Seoul in 2015, marking the first anniversary of the coup staged by the then-army chief Prayut to oust his sister Yingluck Shinawatra from elected premiership.
CAPTION:
De facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra, left in above photo and right in Front Page photo, and de facto Ruam Thai Sang Chart boss Prayut Chan-o-cha. All photos: Thai Rath and merged by Thai Newsroom
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