By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE COURT-SUSPENDED PRIME MINISTER Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suggested to never get on the Pheu Thai stump for next month’s by-election for MP of Sisaket, given the probability that her presence could otherwise prompt a defeat rather than a victory for the Pheu Thai contestant, a partisan source said today (July 21).
Paetongtarn, leader of the Pheu Thai, core of the current coalition, and daughter of de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra, was not known to have been told by her father to join the partisan campaign trail in Constituency 5 of Sisaket for fear that she would not only fail to be of much help but probably diminish chances of a win for the Pheu Thai candidate, namely Purika Sommai, for the by-election scheduled for August 10.
The woman prime minister was considerably feared to erode the now-ebbing popularity of the ruling party as a whole if she was seen going places and delivering an electoral campaign speech anywhere, especially in Thai-Cambodian border areas, according to the partisan source.
The woman prime minister was suspended by court from doing her executive duties as head of government following last month’s unprecedented fiasco in which she had allegedly perpetrated conduct in severe breach of the ethical code and in lack of evident honesty whilst handling Thai-Cambodian border conflict during a leaked telephone talk with Cambodian leader Hun Sen, thus deemed detrimental to Thailand’s territorial integrity, national interests and prestige. The Constitutional Court is more or less anticipated to pass a verdict on a relevant impeachment lawsuit against Thaksin’s embattled daughter next month.
Given antagonistic sentiment of many constituents in Khun Harn and Pusing districts of the lower northeastern province toward the “overly naive and submissive” Paetongtarn in regard to the unsettled Thai-Cambodian border dispute, the suspended prime minister has been strongly advised by the Pheu Thai rank and file to stay away from the by-election campaign, the source said.
The Pheu Thai contestant is vying against the Bhumjaithai contender, namely Jintawan Traisaranakul, in both districts which share a border with Cambodia. Purika is daughter of the late Pheu Thai MP Amornthep Sommai for whom the upcoming by-election is finding replacement whilst Jintawan is daughter of former Pheu Thai MP Thira Traisaranakul and niece of Sisaket provincial administration head Wichit Traisaranakul.
In 2023’s general election, Thaksin’s camp won seven out of a total nine MP seats of Sisaket, leaving the two others to the Bhumjaithai, now an opposition party under de facto boss Newin Chidchob. In recent years, the Traisaranakul family has changed parties from the Pheu Thai to the Bhumjaithai.
Nevertheless, the power-playing Thaksin himself would only join the Pheu Thai by-election campaign if he ultimately believed that the chances of the Pheu Thai contestant’s victory were outdoing those of the Bhumjaithai rival, the source said.
Lots of “ammunition” were undoubtedly anticipated to fly around throughout the constituency from now until the polling date. In political jargon, “ammunition” refers to money offered and accepted in exchange for votes, albeit usually in hush-hush fashion and in spite of the law.
CAPTION:
Top: Suspended prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra with her father, de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra, above, and alone, Front Page. Photos: Thai Rath
Also read: Sisaket by-election tug of war between Thaksin and Newin
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