The reformist party that won the last legislative elections in Thailand was dismissed on Wednesday from the coalition of eight pro-democracy parties which is trying to form a government, in a context of strong resistance from the military and pro-royalist circles.
The Move Forward party (MFP) came out on top in the May 14 election and won the largest number of deputies, thanks to the massive support of young people eager for profound changes in the kingdom, which has since been ruled by the army. almost a decade.
But the candidacy of its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, for the post of Prime Minister was swept aside by senators, hand-picked by the former junta, because of its determination to reform the very strict royal defamation law.
After days of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the leader of Pheu Thai, the other main coalition party, announced the shelving of Move Forward.
“The formation of the new government will not include the MFP,” Chonlanan Srikaew told reporters.
“Pheu Thai will strive for enough votes, MFP will be in opposition and we will work in a new dimension which will benefit the people. The party will now present real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin as their candidate as prime minister,” he added.
Discussions to expand the coalition to other parties revealed that the MFP’s insistence on reforming the lèse-majesté law was a major stumbling block, he said.
“Several parties have made it clear that they will not support any government with the MFP in the coalition,” according to Chonlanan Srikaew.
The news sparked anger among some MFP supporters, who protested outside the Pheu Thai headquarters, burning mannequins and smearing party walls with red paint.
The general secretary of the Move Forward party, Chaitawat Tulanon, was more measured, saying that the party would continue its fight, in opposition.
“We will do our best to lead Thai politics towards real democracy, a system where people’s votes really matter,” he told reporters.
Besides royal libel reform, the MFP has spooked the Thai establishment by promising to reform the military and dismantle the monopolies that dominate the kingdom’s economy.
Since Pita Limjaroenrat’s failure to become prime minister, “it was only a matter of time” before Pheu Thai got rid of him, political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak told AFP.
“The question is whether the MFP will support candidate Pheu Thai to marginalize the Senate,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak told AFP. “If so, it would be a snub for the putschists.”
To become Prime Minister, a candidate must be approved by a majority of both chambers, the 500 elected deputies and the 250 senators appointed by the former junta.
Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, a Harvard graduate, had 324 votes in both houses in a vote in mid-July, but only 13 in the Senate.
His second attempt a few days later was blocked and he was suspended from his parliamentary mandate by the Constitutional Court for holding shares in a television channel. Thai law forbids it, although this channel has not broadcast since 2007.
Parliament’s vote to appoint the Prime Minister is scheduled for Friday. The Move Forward party has yet to announce whether its MPs will vote for Mr Srettha.
Srettha Thavisin, a 60-year-old businessman with a consensual profile, will have to build a new coalition around him likely to win the support of senators.
Tuesday in a video released by his party, he claimed to rule out governing with the pro-military parties responsible for the 2014 coup.
However, he will need the support of part of the outgoing government resulting from this coup, such as Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bumjathai, which has the third largest group of deputies, to have a majority in the Assembly.
The Pheu Thai is a heavyweight in Thai politics, secretly led by the Shinawatra family, which includes among its members two former prime ministers ousted by military coups in 2006 and 2014.
The patriarch of this essential clan of Thai politics, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been in exile mainly in Dubai for 15 years to escape a conviction for corruption, in a trial he considers political.
But the daughter of the 74-year-old billionaire announced last week that he intended to return to the kingdom on August 10 and rely on justice.
02/08/2023 13:02:01 – Bangkok (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
