ASEAN HEADLINE | Thailand’s Democrat joins Thaksin-linked party
PHOTO: THE STAR
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ANN/THE STAR – Thailand’s oldest political party will join the ruling coalition led by former rival Pheu Thai Party, as new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra finalises her Cabinet lineup.
The Democrat Party will nominate its leader Chalermchai Sri-On and secretary-general Dej-Is Khaothong as ministers in Paetongtarn’s yet-to-be announced Cabinet, Chalermchai told reporters.
Twenty-five Democrat lawmakers in the House of Representatives will help Pheu Thai cushion the loss of the support of 40 members of the pro-military Palang Pracharath party that was excluded earlier this week from the ruling bloc.
With the addition of Democrat Party, the coalition will command the support of about 300 lawmakers in the 500-member elected chamber.
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An alliance between the Shinawatra clan, which controls Pheu Thai, and Democrat Party brings an end to a bitter political rivalry dating back at least two decades.
The Democrat Party had long opposed various parties linked to Paetongtarn’s father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whom it had accused of cronyism, populism and corruption.
Each side has seen their supporters engage in street protests and sometimes deadly clashes with authorities during different periods of turmoil in Thailand that ended in two military coups.
Paetongtarn became prime minister on August 16, after Pheu Thai’s Srettha Thavisin was disqualified for ethics violations by a court ruling after less than a year in power.
Paetongtarn’s ministerial candidates are still being vetted in a government formation process that’s expected to take until mid-September, according to Phumtham Wechayachai, one of Srettha’s deputy prime ministers who is acting in the leader’s capacity.
Phumtham is likely to be appointed defence minister, according to local newspaper Thaksettakij.
The expected roster of the 36-member Cabinet will also likely include new names, including Pichai Naripthaphan as commerce minister, it said.
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