By Thai Newsroom Reporters
CARETAKER PRIME MINISTER Anutin Charnvirakul today (Jan.17) downplayed an unanticipated remark recently made by Bhumjaithai Secretary-General Chaichanok Chidchob that the current core of the caretaker government would not align with the Pheu Thai to set up a potential coalition government after the Feb.8 election due to the latter’s alleged connections with the transnational scammer suspect namely Benjamin Mauerberger alias Ben Smith.
Anutin who concurrently acts as leader of the Bhumjaithai steered behind the scenes by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob, father of Chaichanok’s, shrugged off the unexpected comment made by the Bhumjaithai secretary-general, saying he may have expressed his “personal” views about the future setup of a post-election government without a supportive partisan resolution.
According to Chaichanok who is seeking re-election in party-listed mode alongside Anutin and others under the ultra-conservative Bhumjaithai tickets, Newin’s camp might probably align with the reformist People’s and ultra-conservative Klatham but not with the neo-conservative Pheu Thai under de facto party boss/inmate Thaksin Shinawatra who had been allegedly surreptitiously associated with Ben Smith.
However, Thaksin’s camp has been invariably anticipated to look to jump onto the potential bandwagon of a Bhumjaithai-led coalition government following the Feb.8 election despite such unwelcoming remarks made by the de facto Bhumjaithai boss’s son.
Chaichanok’s latest comments closely followed those earlier made by Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit to the extent that the People’s will unreluctantly become part of the opposition bloc at parliament if the Bhumjaithai emerged as the largest elected camp, thus deserving the first opportunity to set up a post-election government.
On the other hand, if the reformist camp comes out as the largest elected one, they will freely set up a government of their own with a sustained resolution to not repeat the 2019 and 2023 phenomena in which the largest elected camps, namely the Pheu Thai and Move Forward, were not given the chances to do so following the previous elections due to the overwhelming, decisive power of the coup junta-appointed senators which is no longer provided by law today.
CAPTION:
Caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, left in above photo and right in Front Page photo, and Bhumjaithai Secretary-General Chaichanok Chidchob. Above image – PPTVHD36, Front Page image – Thai Rath
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