By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PAIBUL NITITAWAN was today (Sep. 6) named secretary-general of the Palang Pracharath, now the second largest opposition party, in place of Thammanat Prompao who has practically defected to the Pheu Thai, core of the current coalition.
In today’s general caucus of the Palang Pracharath, 24 persons were named members of the party’s new executive board with Palang Pracharath MP Prawit Wongsuwan retaining his partisan leadership and Paibul, a former MP, being named secretary-general of the opposition party.
However, only a dozen out of a total 40 Palang Pracharath MPs have stayed with Prawit’s camp whilst the others have practically renegaded and anticipated the new Palang Pracharath executive board to formally dismiss them so they could enrol for membership of another party within a 60-day period to keep their MP status intact as provided by law.
The latest event at Prawit’s camp closely followed a recurring exodus of six Palang Pracharath executive members headed by Thammanat from the opposition party after they had renegaded to join ranks with the Pheu Thai under de facto party boss/billionaire power player Thaksin Shinawatra who had dumped Prawit’s camp out of the Pheu Thai-led coalition.
Though Thammanat, a former agriculture & cooperatives minister, had not been awarded a ministerial seat in a new Pheu Thai-led cabinet in return for the sensational turncoat of his clique from Prawit, his close associate Narumon Pinyosinwat and his brother Akhara Prompao were named agriculture & cooperatives minister and deputy agriculture & cooperatives minister respectively.
Primarily due to conflict of interest, Thaksin had quietly viewed Prawit as one of his archenemies in addition to former prime minister/former Democrat leader Chuan Leekpai who had seen 21 out of a total 25 Democrat MPs eagerly jumping onto the Pheu Thai bandwagon in place of the Palang Pracharath and Thai Sang Thai leader Sudarat Keyurapan, all six MPs of whom had practically endorsed the naming of the de facto Pheu Thai boss’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra for prime minister despite their current party being on the opposition bloc.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Palang Pracharath leader Prawit Wongsuwan, centre, with his party’s new secretary-general Paibul Nititawan, right, at today’s party meeting.
Front Page: Palang Pracharath leader Prawit Wongsuwan giving a wai with his party’s new secretary-general Paibul Nititawan seated next to him. Both Photos: Thai Rath
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