By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THANATHORN JUANGROONGRUANGKIT said today (Jan.16) the People’s will definitely be part of the opposition bloc at parliament if the Bhumjaithai emerges as the largest elected party in the Feb. 8 election, thus deserving the first opportunity to set up a government.
The Progressive Movement leader made his latest comment to reconfirm the People’s resolution to not align with the Bhumjaithai, currently core of the caretaker government, in effort to set up a coalition government and instead choose to become an opposition party if the former are outvoted by the latter in the nationwide election for a total of 500 MPs – 400 in constituency-based mode and 100 in party-listed mode.
On the other hand, he confirmed that if the reformist People’s is the largest elected one, they will undoubtedly set up a government of their own without the Bhumjaithai as coalition partner and that the reformist camp will see to it that the shared will of a majority of voters be eventually met and no longer denied for a third time after previous elections.
He referred to the 2019 and 2023 phenomena in which the largest elected parties, namely the Pheu Thai and Move Forward respectively, had failed to set up a post-election government and finally left it to the less elected camps overwhelmingly endorsed by coup junta-appointed senators. Today, the senators are no longer constitutionally empowered to vote for head of a post-election government.
Thanathorn who is currently assisting the People’s electoral campaign nationwide is the former leader of the Future Forward which had been practically resurrected as the Move Forward led by Pita Limjaroenrat who had run in vain for prime minister in the 2023 election. Both reformist camps were dissolved one after the other by the Constitutional Court and turned to be the People’s.
In case that the ultra-conservative Bhumjaithai led by Caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and steered behind the scenes by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob comes out as the largest elected camp, the neo-conservative Pheu Thai under de facto party boss/inmate Thaksin Shinawatra is more or less speculated to jump onto the bandwagon of a Bhumjaithai-led coalition government, among others.
Meanwhile, the de facto Pheu Thai boss is not anticipated to be released on parole from Khlong Prem prison until the upcoming May after he had been ruled guilty by the Supreme Court of a few counts of misconduct charges perpetrated during his elected premiership over the last couple of decades and sentenced to one year behind bars last September.
Thaksin had been seen as a power player whilst literally staying for a six-month period in his premium ward at Police Hospital until he had been released on parole in early 2024 to land real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin an elected premiership after the last election and then manipulated in hush-hush fashion to have his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra succeed him barely a year later.
Both Srettha, viewed as personally associated with Thaksin’s fugitive sister/former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, and Paetongtarn had been deposed at the orders of the Constitutional Court on charges of perpetrating severe breaches to the politician’s code of ethics pertaining to the naming of an ex-convict for a member of cabinet and a disreputable cellphone chitchat between Thaksin’s daughter and senior Cambodian leader Hun Sen on Thai-Cambodian border conflict respectively.
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This and Front Pag – Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit campaigning in Rayong last Wednesday. Photos – Thai Rath
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