Thai Rivalry Melting as Thaksin-Linked Party Mulls Coalition With Democrats
(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai Party has invited a former rival to join its coalition, as new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra aims to finalize her cabinet by early next month.
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The Democrat Party will likely meet Thursday to discuss whether to join the multi-member bloc and who it will nominate as potential ministers in Paetongtarn’s cabinet, deputy leader Pramual Pongthavaradet told reporters.
If the Democrat joins, its 25 lawmakers in the House of Representatives will be added to the coalition, helping cushion the 40 seats lost when Pheu Thai ejected pro-military Palang Pracharath earlier this week. Paetongtarn became prime minister on Aug. 16, after Srettha Thavisin was disqualified for ethics violations by a court ruling after less than a year in power.
A potential alliance between the Shinawatra clan and Thailand’s oldest political party would shatter a bitter political divide dating back at least two decades. The Democrat Party has long opposed the various parties linked to Paetongtarn’s father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whom it has accused of cronyism, populism and corruption.
READ: What to Know About Thailand’s Youngest Prime Minister: QuickTake
After a coup toppled Thaksin’s administration in 2006, his supporters formed the pro-democracy “Red Shirt” movement to protest his removal. They often clashed with already-existing “Yellow Shirts,” a royalist group who sought to eradicate the billionaire businessman-turned-politician from Thai politics and had paved the way for the putsch.
After several short-stinted administrations and a court-ordered dissolution of a Thaksin-linked party, Abhisit Vejjajiva, the then-leader of the Democrat Party, was appointed premier in 2008. Abhisit’s Democrat then lost to Pheu Thai in a general election in 2011, which resulted in Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck, becoming prime minister.
Burying Hatchet
She pushed for an amnesty bill that would’ve allowed Thaksin to come home from exile, which led to another round of protests, this time backed by supporters of Democrat Party, which eventually resulted in another coup in 2014.
But the Democrat’s current secretary-general, Dej-Is Khaothong, said it’s time to bury the hatchet. He said voters would like to see the party in the new government.
“I feel at ease with this. We have only love and forgiveness for each other,” Dej-Is said at a joint briefing with his Pheu Thai counterpart on Wednesday. “It’s up to the prime minister which cabinet positions she will give us.”
Paetongtarn, 38, the youngest of Thaksin’s three children, has struggled to finalize her cabinet lineup due to the squabbling by the now-ousted Palang Pracharath Party as well as lengthy background checks on ministerial candidates.
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