By Thai Newsroom Reporters
MANY DESIGNATE-MPs of the Bhumjaithai, who emerged as the largest elected party in the Feb.8 election, have expressed concern over the possibility of Caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul being legally impeached and deprived of power if de facto Klatham boss Thammanat Prompao was eventually named member of a Bhumjaithai-led cabinet, given his allegedly unwelcome image, according to partisan sources.
Those designate lawmakers of the ultra-conservative Bhumjaithai under de facto party boss Newin Chidchob were quietly concerned over Thammanat’s thinly-veiled design to join the post-election coalition government with himself preferring to continue to run the agriculture & cooperatives portfolio – the ministerial seat which he is currently taking in caretaker fashion, given severe misconduct which he had previously perpetrated, thus putting the caretaker prime minister who concurrently acts as Bhumjaithai leader at risk of being possibly subject to an impeachment lawsuit.
Somebody is speculated sooner or later to file an impeachment lawsuit to the Constitutional Court against Anutin as head of the post-election government in regard to the otherwise naming of the scandalous Thammanat for a member of his future cabinet, they said.
In 2024, former prime minister Srettha Thavisin was found guilty by the Constitutional Court of severely breaching the politician’s code of ethics by having landed a former convict a ministerial seat in his cabinet and was immediately deprived of his status as head of a previous Pheu Thai-led government.
Besides, those designate-MPs under Newin’s command were worried to some extent over Thammanat’s alleged personal association with some grey businesspersons such as the likes of Benjamin Mauerberger alias Ben Smith who had been suspected of fostering connections with Cambodia-based, transnational scam and money-laundering networks, they said.
Whether or not the ultra-conservative Klatham will be eventually brought into the potential bandwagon of a Bhumjaithai-led government will finally depend on the de facto Bhumjaithai boss known to be decisively instrumental not only in allocating cabinet portfolios among coalition partners but among his party’s rank and file.
Meanwhile, Thammanat who currently has a force of 58 designate-MPs including himself under command commented today (Feb.16) he will practically have no trouble bargaining for preferable ministerial seats under Anutin’s elected premiership and that he will talk with the caretaker prime minister about the coalition lineup over lunch tomorrow (Feb.17).
In search of certain portfolios in the Bhumjaithai-led cabinet are Klatham leader Narumon Pinyosinwat, Klatham secretary-general Pai Lick and Thammanat, among others.
The potential Bhumjaithai-led government currently consists of 15 coalition parties, mostly being splinter ones with one or a few designate-MPs each, securing a combined force of 296 MPs at their command. That includes 193 designate-MPs of the largest elected Newin’s camp and 74 designate-MPs of the Pheu Thai who came out as the third largest elected camp under de facto boss/inmate Thaksin Shinawatra, among others.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page – De facto Klatham boss Thammanat Prompao talking to reporters today, Feb. 16, 2026. Photos – PPTVHD36
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